Handbook of Girls’ and Women’s Psychological Health, Gender and Well-Being Across the Life Span
Editors: Judith Worell and Carol Goodheart
— Reviewed by Dorothy W. Cantor, Psy.D.
This is a book that belongs on the desk of every psychologist who treats girls and women. In 50 succinct chapters, it covers current research, scholarship and practice on the risks and protective factors that influence women’s psychological health and well-being, across the lifespan. The Editors, Judith Worell and Carol Goodheart (a former President of Division 42) have assembled a remarkable group of contributors, many of whose names are instantly recognizable as authorities in the field. A sampling of chapter titles suggests the breadth of the book: “Trauma in the Lives of Girls and Women,” “Mixed Messages of Motherhood,” “Girls and Academic Success,” and “Positive Aging: Reconstructing the Life Course.” There isn’t a topic I could think of that isn’t addressed.
The chapters are short and readable, and filled with valuable information. And if they leave you wanting deeper information on the subject, the chapters include an extensive bibliography. Clearly at the direction of the Editors who had practitioners in mind, each chapter includes the implications for interventions and treatment.
The book offers a biopsychosocial perspective on psychological health. As such, it integrates mind and body and takes into account concerns of ethnic minority and lesbian women in each chapter, rather than as a separate section, as is often the case.
The Editors did not set out to provide a treatment manual. They assume that as practitioners we know how to treat our patients. We have the theoretical knowledge and the techniques and they do not try to teach them to us.
What reading this book will do for you is teach you about or augment your understanding of girls’ and women’s development across the life span. You will be given new perspectives on old issues. The book will serve as a resource to turn to when an issue comes up with a female patient. And it may get younger women thinking about working in the arena of primary care.
Let me give you an example of the book’s usefulness. Suppose a 35 year old woman presents for therapy, with complaints of depression. She is struggling to regain the svelte body she had prior to her three pregnancies. She is ambivalent about returning to her career, although her husband is pressuring her to do it because they need the money. Reading Chapter 7, “Body Image,” Chapter 23, “Women and Relationships” and several chapters in the section on Balancing, including Chapter 36, “Mixed Messages of Motherhood” and Chapter 37, “Family and Work Balance” will provide the biopsychosocial context for the treatment.
As I reviewed my list of current women patients in my mind, I could not think of one for whom there wasn’t something to be learned and applied in this excellent book. From the 24 year old identical twin struggling with her individual identity, to the 76 year old anxious divorced woman who lives with an older brother -- and everyone in between -- there is at least one significant chapter.
I highly recommend that you add this very readable, user-friendly volume to your professional library.
