Even though the role of women in our culture has changed in many ways over the past few decades, there are still strong cultural expectations that influence women’s behaviors and relationships. In contrast to men, who are conditioned to be independent, women sometimes find that they have trouble “finding their voice.” As a result, they may try to become what others expect them to be, rather than the person they feel they are being called to become. This may mean being the one who consistently cares for and nurtures others, while ignoring or paying insufficient attention to their own needs and desires.

In working with women, therefore, I strive to help them access and integrate all aspects of themselves, including those feelings, traits, and desires that they might not previously have been encouraged to develop or express. Just as men must learn to be able to feel and express vulnerable emotions such as sadness, it is important for women to get in touch with disowned emotions such as anger, which they might have felt pressured to repress in the past, perhaps in an effort to avoid conflict.

Depending on the life stage of the woman, there may be a more specific therapeutic focus:

• For adolescent and young adult women, the goal of therapy may be increasing the client’s self-awareness, self-acceptance, assertiveness, and self-confidence.
• For women who are married or in other serious relationships, therapy may be focused on learning how to communicate more effectively and how to better handle relationship issues and stresses.
• For mothers, the therapy may consist of addressing issues involving parenting, discipline, and role conflict.
• For older women, issues involving illness, menopause, retirement, and caring for aging parents often gain prominence.

Many women today face considerable stress in trying to balance conflicting roles and responsibilities at home, at work, and in the community. As part of the therapeutic process, I work with women to clarify and manage these roles, develop strategies for minimizing the stress associated with them, and identify new, more effective ways of allocating their limited time and energies.