Psychological counselling in post-Soviet Russia: Gendered perceptions in a feminizing profession

Abstract

In this article the authors discuss psychological counselling as it emerges as a gendered profession in the transitional economy of Russia. Based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 23 female and three male practising counsellors, the article analyses their perceptions of their profession, focusing in particular on two key issues: (1) their reasons for entry into the profession; and (2) their expectations of their work as a profession. The authors argue that both female and male counsellors’ perceptions of their entry into this profession revealed highly gendered stances, and furthermore, that these were strongly imbricated in the legacies of Soviet employment policies and gender ideology.

‘The Bottom Line Is That the Problem Is You’: Aesthetic Labour, Postfeminism and Subjectivity in Russian Self-Help Literature

“…Women's magazines, chick lit, 'glamour fiction' and self-help literature constitute pivotal sites in which the symbolic production and contention of gender, sexuality and class take place. Popular psychology and self-help literature occupied a marginal position in Soviet society, but during late perestroika years the 'psy industry' grew dramatically (Griffin and Karepova, 2011). Popular media culture has been the primary site through which the therapeutic discourse has been culturally appropriated and disseminated in Russia (Lerner, 2015;Salmenniemi and Adamson, 2015).…”

Compositions of professionalism in counselling work: An embodied and embedded intersectionality framework

“…Psychological counselling in Russia was banned under the Communist regime, as it was seen as inherently individualistic and therefore incompatible with socialist ideology and its collective values (see Karepova, 2010). The profession emerged following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, and its subsequent rapid growth in popularity was facilitated by the relative novelty of this field, which offered promising employment opportunities while many traditional industries were collapsing during economic transition and perestroika (Griffin and Karepova, 2011). Moreover, the fall of the Socialist regime resulted in profound uncertainty and the breakdown of traditional social norms and life patterns, causing social anxiety and creating increased demand for advice on conducting a coherent and meaningful existence in the new context (see Karepova, 2010).…”

“…The article is based on analysis of 26 in-depth interviews with counselling psychologists in Russia, which represents an interesting context for the theorization of embodied constitutions of professionalism. First, counselling in Russia is a female-dominated field (Griffin and Karepova, 2011). Exploring embodied constitutions of professionalism in this context complements previous studies that have focused on male-dominated professional and organizational settings (Haynes, 2008, 2012; McDowell, 1997; Riach and Cutcher, 2014).…”

New Heroines of Labour: Domesticating Post-feminism and Neoliberal Capitalism in Russia

“…In the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, commercial popular psychology, as well as other new cultural technologies, emerged to fill the landscape vacated by the Communist ideology. In subsequent years the psy industry grew dramatically ( Griffin and Karepova, 2011 ), including the consumption of advice literature ( Dubin and Zorkaia, 2008 : 26). The keenest consumers of the new psy technologies are women, younger age groups and the middle class ( Dubin and Zorkaia, 2008 ; Salmenniemi and Vorona, forthcoming ).…”