hypothesizing

from the book a guide to feminist family therapy

from womyn and eating disorders by richard schwartz & mary jo barrett ~

"social norms have taught womyn to expect limited power and to be satisfied with limited control over their lives as well as the lives of others.  womyn are not encouraged to be assertive or direct in their communication, rather they learn to be passive and covert.  they are implicitly asked to create the illusion of dependence.  illusion, because while they are supposed to be subordinate and dependent, in reality they are expected to meet their own needs and the needs of others."

"eating disorders maintain both the position of the dependent person in need of constant care and attention and the position of powerful and overcontrolling demagogue.  this indirect method of gaining power and control, while remaining subordinate is congruent with the societal message that womyn are taught.

from womyn, family therapy, and larger systems by linda webb-watson

"failure to see womyn and their families in the sociopolitical context in which they exist is the same barrier which inhibits therapists from examining the political nature of therapy.  that is, the action of diagnosing and intervening with clients has a political reality as well as a therapeutic reality.  rather than labeling therapy as interactive with an ongoing political process, edelman suggests that '. . . psychiatrists reinforce the norm that cheerful adjustment to poverty or war is healthy while despondency or anger in the face of these pathologies is sick; but their decisions are labeled medical'."

"we have found that it is through the management of meaning (either through reframing and/or positive connotation) that openings are 'discovered' in the distress."

"hypothesizing plays a significant role in this work.  an hypothesis is a descriptive device that possesses at least three elements.  the first is that the hypothesis is primarily useful rather than primarily truthful.  this allows for the abandonment of a search for the truth and facilitates the development of description upon which action can be taken.  the second element is a recognition that a hypothesis emerges as a particular point of view at a particular point in time.  what this means is that a hypothesis is subject to change as time and circumstances move on.  finally, the systemic hypothesis is an attempt to link a description of symptomatic behavior to the various members within the interacting systems."

"the advocacy stance arises when the primary punctuation is on the premise: the system created the problem."

"... many of the disagreements centered around differences in expectations and styles of approaching certain situations. ... observation of the child within the context of the classroom supported a hypothesis that cultural differences in behavior and expectations were part of the problem."

"as we reflect on the ways in which the act of family therapy is part of the politics in our society, greater clarity will be gained on our role in the stability and change of larger systems particularly as it relates to the issues of gender, culture, and class.  an apparently useful direction is the continued elaboration of the family therapist' part in the problem system."