Trauma Theory Without Feminism? Evaluating Contemporary Understandings of Traumatized Women

2013/04/22 by Emma Tseris · 1 citation
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child Abuse and Trauma #Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications #Family Support in Illness

paper · doi:10.1177/0886109913485707

openalex publication_date 2013/04/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/04

Abstract

In this article, I critically examine contemporary notions of trauma and how they have informed mental health interventions for women. The feminist underpinnings of trauma therapy invite practitioners to understand women’s mental health “symptoms” within the context of such experiences as child abuse and sexual violence that disproportionately affect women. However, this article poses the question: Has trauma theory caused paradigmatic shifts in mental health interventions that have increased practitioners’ capacity to engage with sociopolitical issues, or are preexisting assumptions about the biological basis of women’s mental illness guiding treatment approaches simply by another name? Implications for social workers are discussed.

Citations

• The strengths perspective in social work practice
• Feminist paradigms of trauma treatment.
• Feminist Perspectives on Trauma
• Toward a Radical Understanding of Trauma and Trauma Work

Cited by

• Trauma-informed feminist therapy [wikipedia]

Related

• Toward a feminist psychological theory of “institutional trauma”
• Feminist Multicultural Counseling with Traumatized Individuals
• The Personal is Political
• Using feminist, emotion-focused, and developmental approaches to enhance cognitive-behavioral therapies for posttraumatic stress disorder related to childhood sexual abuse.
• Cognitive Trauma Therapy for Battered Women with PTSD: Preliminary findings