Book Review: Psychological practice with women: Guidelines, diversity, empowerment

Psychological Practice with Women: Guidelines, Diversity, Empowerment (Zerbe Enns, Rice, & Nutt, 2015) was developed to complement the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Girls and Women (2007; hereinafter, the Guidelines). Whereas the Guidelines are designed with brevity and conciseness in mind, this edited text is designed to provide a thorough understanding, and advance applicability, of the Guidelines for practitioners and scholars. Operationalized through a feminist lens, the text covers the three sections of the Guidelines: (a) Diversity, Social Context, and Power; (b) Professional Responsibility; and (c) Practice Application. The text specifically focuses on the contextualized lives of ethnic minority women; women with disabilities; lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women; as well as the application of feminist and transformation principles to assessment, conceptualization, and inclusive, affirmative practices. This text is intentional in its utilization of an intersectional perspective and focuses on contemporary issues. Although chapters have a primary focal group, intersecting social identities reflecting marginalization and power are woven into each chapter. Psychologists are encouraged to understand the complexity of intersecting identities and to incorporate an intersectional perspective to further their psychological practice with women. Unlike some other books devoted to historical accounts and theory, the chapters in this text speak to the lived experiences of women in today’s society. For example, Chapter 3 addresses issues of racism, sexism, violence, and the deficiency hypothesis as experienced in the daily lives of Black women. This content is directly applicable to psychologists working with and advocating for Black women in the criminal justice system and for psychologists participating in the current #blackwomenmatter and #blacklivesmatter movement. The book predates the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage. However, as expressed well in Chapter 5, although small and large victories have taken place, the lives of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women remain highly influenced by systemic discrimination, violence, and inequality. Chapter 5 encourages psychologists to advance their competence in working with sexual orientation and gender minority women and offers both interventions and resources for doing so. The majority of diversity-related guidelines use the threepronged approach of awareness, knowledge, and skill (originating with Sue & Sue, 2008). The Guidelines and this text are no exception to this model. Each chapter highlights the importance of the psychologist’s awareness, frequently positing self-reflective questions for the psychologist’s consideration, and provides sociopolitical factors related to the psychological health of women. Skill and intervention development are noteworthy elements of this book. Chapters provide detailed analysis of case studies and offer numerous interventions and affirmative healing measures meant to educate and empower female clients. In fact, the theme of empowerment is present in all the chapters and in the diversity of identities held by the chapters’ authors. As previously mentioned, intersectionality is a strength of this book; however, certain populations and voices are missing. Ethnic populations of focus include Black/African descent, Latina, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native women. The realities of biracial and multiracial women, women of Middle Eastern descent, and women with transracial identities are missing. Furthermore, given the emphasis on intersectionality within this text, it is unfortunate that Chapter 5’s discussion of minority stress omits discussion of the significant level of violence directed towards transwomen of color (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2015). Recognizing and respecting the gendered, racial, and sexual reality of transwomen of color is imperative to delivering psychological services in line with the Guidelines. Overall, this text is an excellent accompaniment to the Guidelines, as well as other guidelines addressing the psychological needs of women. As the Guidelines call psychologists to continually further their development and competence in working with women, this text is an excellent resource for accomplishing this goal. It is relevant to practitioners and scholars alike, providing a host of interventions and resources as well as presenting suggestions for much-needed new research related to psychological practice with women. The relevance of information and the practice orientation make this a text that will be used frequently in practice, classrooms, and policy development.