Psychiatric training in gender specific psychology and goals for women in therapy

A questionnaire addressing itself to the necessity of psychiatric training in gender specific issues and therapists' attitudes towards women in treatment was answered by almost half the total number of residents in psychiatric programs across Canada in the spring of 1980. Although the majority felt that training in gender specific psychology was a necessity, our survey indicated only a small proportion of Canadian programs (2 out of the 16 psychiatric schools) have incorporated this into their present curricula. An overview of the survey showed residents to agree with the following attitudes regarding women in therapy: 1) women's conflicts should be considered in the framework of their developmental life cycle and reproductive issues; 2) women do not present the same conflicts, goals and values as men; 3) therapy should help women to become more autonomous and assertive in the home and at work; and 4) women's primary goal should not necessarily be seen as that of caregivers and homemakers. Further, the residents expressed the beliefs that sex role ideology could interfere with therapy and that the "traditional hierarchy of power" should not be replicated between therapist and patient.