Historical Perspectives on Women and Mental Illness and Prevention of Depression in Women, Using a Feminist Framework

Abstract

This article discusses Showalter's (1985) description of the historical perspectives of how women have been viewed in the culture and how these perspectives have influenced women's past treatment for mental illness. Using Caplan's (1974) level of prevention in health care and a feminist framework, suggestions are made for prevention or alleviation of depression in women in the contemporary culture. In The Female Malady, Showalter (1985) described three themes that were prevalent through three historical phases of English psychiatry: psychiatric Victorianism (1830-1870), psychiatric Darwinism (1870-1920), and psychiatric Modernism (1920-1980). Showalter described how the prevailing attitudes toward the mentally ill, and toward women in particular, were influenced by the social changes of each historical phase and how these attitudes affected the thinking and treatment used by the psychiatrists. The problems that these historical perspectives have caused for women are discussed. A feminist view of depression is given in which depression is equated with oppression. The guidelines for feminist therapy developed by the Task Force of the Feminist Therapy Collective, Inc., of Philadelphia and by feminist therapists in private practice in Philadelphia are discussed as an alternative to the traditional approach to therapy. Mental health promotion using Caplan's (1974) three levels of prevention in health care is discussed. Intervention strategies for each of these levels of prevention, following feminist guidelines and using techniques that have been found to be helpful for women, are described and discussed. The focus of these intervention strategies is to reduce effects of factors in the cultural environment that contribute to the oppression of women and, in turn, contribute to their becoming depressed.