Main description:

Women with serious mental illness (SMI) include those with schizophrenia, severe depression, bipolar disorder, and/or complex posttraumatic stress disorder whose illnesses significantly impair daily functioning. While these women commonly present in psychotherapy and research samples, their needs are rarely addressed in academic literature and mental health training programs.

Women with Serious Mental Illness focuses on these women's experiences, including the history of mistreatment, marginalization, and oppression they have encountered within their everyday lives and within the mental health system. With decades of combined clinical experience, Drs. Lauren Mizock and Erika Carr offer evidence-based strategies for mental health professionals working with this overlooked population. Built on a framework of feminist theory, concepts on the intersectionality
of oppression, and a more holistic view of recovery, the book examines the impact of racism, sexual objectification, trauma, relationships, work, and class on the development and presentation of symptoms of mental illness in these women. These discussions are then synthesized into an effective treatment
intervention, Gender-Sensitive and Recovery-Oriented Care (G-ROC), which values an equal therapeutic relationship and validates the client as an expert on their own mental health. Chapters include worksheets, discussion questions, and case narratives for easy practical application in research or training programs. Women with Serious Mental Illness underscores the need for improved care for women, men, and gender nonbinary people with serious mental illness. Using these tools, clients can begin
the process of seeking hope, empowerment, and self-determination beyond the effects of mental illness.

Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: History of the Mistreatment of Women with Serious Mental Illness

Chapter 3: Women with Serious Mental Illness, Resilience, and the Recovery Movement

Chapter 4: Motherhood, Family, and Relationships for Women with Serious Mental Illness

Chapter 5: Work and Class Among Women with Serious Mental Illness

Chapter 6: Cultural Factors Among Women with Serious Mental Illness: Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Spirituality

Chapter 7: Sexual Objectification of Women with Serious Mental Illness

Chapter 8: Trauma and Preventing Retraumatization of Women with Serious Mental Illness

Chapter 9: Gender-Sensitive and Recovery-Oriented Care: A New Intervention Model

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Appendix

References

Index