Women survivors’ accounts of seeing psychologists: harm or benefit?

Abstract

Many women who experience intimate partner violence are left with significant and long-lasting mental health effects resulting in survivors seeking help from psychologists. However, the voices of women who have sought such help are mostly absent in research. To address this gap, we interviewed 20 women survivors of intimate partner violence about their experiences when seeing psychologists. We analysed this data thematically and developed two main themes relating to women’s experiences of psychologists after intimate partner violence. These themes were: mirroring abuse or being supportive and it did me quite a bit of damage. Our research suggests that these women experienced suboptimal mental healthcare after intimate partner violence and that the effects of this were not neutral but were damaging. Positive experiences suggested that these women appreciated practices aligned with feminist and trauma and violence-informed approaches. This study fills in some details about women’s experiences, which can be used to further inform trauma and violence-informed approaches.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Women reported psychologists mirroring the abusive behaviours of intimate partner violence.</li><br /><li>When psychologists mirrored abusive behaviours, women reported re-traumatisation and inhibited help-seeking.</li><br /><li>Women reported positive experiences leading to healing and new directions when the care aligned with trauma and violence-informed approaches.</li></ul>

Gender-based violence and its socio-cultural implications in South West Ethiopia secondary schools

“…Again, most of the research findings conducted in sub-Saharan countries have very vague analyses (available in English) from elsewhere. The limited prominence and contextual precision of the study caution against any straightforward extrapolation ( Marsden et al., 2020 ).…”

“…Gender-based violence is perceived as an essential form of public well-being apprehension ( Johnson Ross and Parkes, 2020a , 2020b ). It is a core issue risk factor for women’s health-related susceptibilities (mostly procreative and psychologically), particularly in developing regions such as Africa ( Marsden et al., 2020 ). The research examines socio-cultural origins, sex inclination, and the influence of GBV on women’s creative status or education related to their schooling.…”

Understanding the dynamics of support seeking in women with lived experience of non‐physical intimate partner violence (IPV) and the service responses—A qualitative study

“…Cottam (2018) has also stated the need for professionals to work with women who present with an issue (e.g. depression) to take time to identify the root cause (such as IPV), and together develop an intervention or referral pathway that meets the woman's needs (Marsden, Humphreys, & Hegarty, 2021). As recognised in a meta‐synthesis, health systems require improved training, policies and referral protocols and we would highlight that the training needs to appropriately identify non‐physical IPV, intervention or referral pathways (Hudspeth et al, 2022).…”

The attitudes and beliefs of the child protection workforce and why they matter to children who live with violence

“…McPherson Halket et al (2014) found 43% of women reported that therapy was not helpful because the practitioner behaved in ways that made the women feel blamed for the violence and/or criticized for staying. Similarly, Marsden et al's (2021) research included in-depth interviews with women victims, finding they attributed negative experiences to the judgmental attitudes of psychologists. In the wider population, many women described internal barriers to disclosure (feeling embarrassed or ashamed) or external barriers (perceiving that their health practitioner was only concerned about physical issues) (Hegarty et al, 2010).…”