COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY WITH A FEMINIST - ORIENTATION - A PERSPECTIVE FOR THERAPY WITH DEPRESSED WOMEN

The 2:1 ratio of depression among women compared to men has received l ittle attention in the cognitive therapy literature. It has been estab lished that this difference is not artifactual and likely represents, at least partly, differences between women's and men's socialization e xperiences and environments. Some explanations focus on the contributi on of the prototypical female sex-role, through social devaluation of both the female sex-role and of women's abilities. Other explanations for women's susceptibility centre on women's powerlessness, on women's relational focus, which is labelled dependency, in relationships lack ing mutuality. Another theme of feminist writings concerning women's d epression deals with environmental differences faced by women. Stresso rs that are unique to women, the chronicity of stressful conditions, t he strains of marital and work roles are given significance. Cognitive -behavioural therapy (CBT), which constitutes the most prominent appro ach to treating depression, has attended little to such issues. The im plications of such formulations for treatment, therapeutic goals, and the role of the therapist are discussed.