Routledge Biracial Women in Therapy: Between the Rock of Gender and the Hard Place of Race

Get a unique perspective on the female biracial experience! Biracial Women in Therapy: Between the Rock of Gender and the Hard Place of Race examines how physical appearance, cultural knowledge, and cultural stereotypes affect the experience of mixed-race women in belonging to, and being accepted within, their cultures. This unique book combines empirical research, theoretical papers, and first-person narrative to address issues relevant to providing therapy to biracial women and girls, helping therapists and counselors develop a treatment framework based on sociocultural factors. Researchers, practitioners, and academics provide insight into the biracial reality, taking multiple aspects of clients' lives into account rather than looking for simple hierarchies of well-being based on race. Biracial Women in Therapy is a building block for mental health practitioners in the construction of theory and practice in working with biracial females. The book examines how a biracial women's racial/ethnic identity intersects with her gender and sexual identity to affect her sense of belonging and acceptance, addressing issues of appearance, social class, disability, power and guilt, and dating and marriage. Topics addressed in the book include: the complexities of multiple minority status how ethnic differences affect biracial adolescents issues encountered by biracial women from a sociohistorical context biracial women's attitudes toward counseling stereotypes of marginalization and identity confusion a multicultural feminist approach to counseling and a first-person narrative of one author's racial and sexual identity development Biracial Women in Therapy: Between the Rock of Gender and the Hard Place of Race is a one-of-a-kind resource for counselors, therapists, researchers, and academics seeking insight into unique issues of mixed-race women. About the Author Cathy Thompson, Angela R. Gillem