Working with women in mental health: a feminist perspective

Abstract

This article examines the deconstruction of current beliefs concerning women and mental health and considers how such deconstruction could lead to a reconstruction of psychiatric practice which would benefit everyone concerned with the helping services.

Editorial

“…An example of a non‐research‐based article whose content does not fulfil the promise of its title is ‘Working with women in mental health: a feminist perspective’ in the British Journal of Nursing 's Clinical Review section (Jebali, 1995). This is critical of conventional approaches to care but offers almost nothing of direct applicability to practice.…”

“…The article ends by identifying ‘a need to re‐evaluate our existing knowledge base within psychiatry, in order to create a more credible and relevant understanding of women's needs' (Jebali, 1995, p. 140) but gives no guidance on how this might be done or how such an understanding would be constituted.…”

The problems of researching mixed sex wards

“…For instance, whilst at the same time, trying to 'normalize' it. Attention paid to the importance of confronting prejudice (Thomas whilst women service users may not figuratively articulate 'mixed sex' wards in itself, as a problem, it can be observed 1993, Rose & Platzer 1993, Jebali 1995, Morris 1995 and homophobia in psychiatry (Bhugra 1987) hints that this as such through their own practical responses and solutions to it. A good example of this is the 'Women only' may be the case.…”