Mary Pipher on point two...that Therapy has been hard on Women....does that surprise you? Women it seems, have often been helped by therapy. But Pipher is striking at something much more significant: "Therapists have a long history of scapegoating women. Characteristics associated with men, such as independence and dominance, have been labeled healthy, while characteristics associated with women, such as connectedness, and sharing of power, have been labeled weak and neurotic."
She continues "If children were in trouble the mother was held responsible. She was either too close and suffocating or too distant and emasculating...
In formulations of childhood pathology, both the culture and genetics were ignored and instead, women were blamed. Women were accused of double-binding their families. That is, they sent their children messages that supposedly made the children crazy...Women were held responsible for the well-being of everyone in the family...Women...trusted their therapists even as therapists diagnosed them...Women internalized their therapist's ideas...They felt guilty and dealt with things as best as they could....Most women will do anything, including becoming mental patients, to help their families."
