Jennifer L. Matheson

Using Metaphors to Explore the Experiences of Powerlessness among Women in 12-Step Recovery

12-Step programs of substance abuse recovery are the most utilized mutual-help models in the United States. A pivotal aspect of 12-Step is the often-controversial idea of powerlessness. There is debate about the usefulness of the concept of powerlessness, especially for women in recovery. This study used a metaphor-elicitation interviewing technique to examine the experiences of powerlessness among 13 women of varied racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, ages 21 to 60, who had an average of 9.5 years of recovery. Interviews were conducted during a 6-month span between 2004 and 2005 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Open and axial coding was used to determine emergent themes. Concepts of powerlessness were found to be process oriented and developmental. Some metaphors indicated positive emotions around powerlessness such as relief, whereas others indicated negative emotions such as fear. Implications for future research and study strengths and limitations are included.

Female Adolescent Smoking: A Delphi Study on Best Prevention Practices

The present researchers used a multi-wave Delphi methodology to determine what 14 knowledgeable substance abuse professionals believe are the most appropriate smoking prevention practices for female adolescents. While there was some agreement with the emerging literature, particularly on weight control issues and parental involvement, there was also endorsement of items that appear to be equally salient for both males and females. While the panelists generally acknowledged differential risk factors for females, and the need for prevention programming around these risk factors, more research on gender specific programming is needed before prevention experts are ready to agree on clear and specific practices for adolescent females.

Women's Issues With Substance Use, Misuse, and Addictions: One Perspective

There are a number of important issues related to women’s substance use, misuse, or addiction across the lifespan that deserve attention at present. The various roles women play in the societies of our world continue to develop in ever-complex ways. At the same time, inequality and oppression continue to be major obstacles for women in all societies, and increased societal awareness of the high rates of abuse and violence in women’s lives has not lessened their risk of experiencing them at multiple points in their lives. The ubiquitous trauma in the lives of many women is enough to tip the balance of the scales for some in favor of high-risk coping behaviors such as addiction. The complex process by which women find themselves using substances as a coping mechanism is barely understood. To start with, researchers, clinicians, and the public would benefit by focusing on the enormous number of women who will never walk through the doors of a clinician’s office with addiction as an issue in need of treatment. More focused attention will lead scholars to a better-defined continuum of use and misuse, a much-needed addition to our collective understanding of how addictions form, are maintained, and can be treated. More investigation needs to be conducted on the developmental, transient, and complex relationship women all over the world have with substances and addiction, and how it impacts the many stages of their lives. In terms of developmental stages, two areas of inquiry require much additional research and exploration. First, young adult women in college or at universities have much to share about their experience of substance use and misuse. The college experience brings with it a complicated series of challenges for young women, and how substances are involved in their navigation of those challenges needs to be understood. Because the role of women is continually changing, and women are more likely to enter nontraditional professions that are stressful, it is important to continue to ask questions about what risk and protective factors are impacting their development of addictive behaviors during their college years. Similarly, how we as a society deal with the problems of college drinking, drug use, and addictive behaviors is in its infancy. No longer can universities rely on treatment providers

Family Treatment of Adolescents and Young Adults Recovering From Substance Abuse

Family involvement in adolescent treatment for substance-abuse disorders has been shown to improve outcomes for individuals and families. This article outlines the treatment of adolescents with substance-abuse disorders where families are more fully integrated into the treatment. The adolescent and young adult program at Vanguard Services Unlimited in Arlington, VA is described, as well as the theoretical foundations for the program elements. Barriers to including families in adolescent and young adult substance-abuse treatment are explored, as well as suggestions for how these barriers may be overcome.

An Analysis of Dr. Phil's Advice About Relationships

As marriage and family therapists, it is important to be familiar with the advice America is receiving from televisions most popular therapist, Dr. Phil. Using feminist family therapy theory as the guiding lens, 28 episodes of Dr. Phil were analyzed. Findings from this study indicate that advice on the Dr. Phil show is conflicting; he encourages equal partnerships while simultaneously promoting stereotypical gender roles, a barrier to equality. Further results suggest that Dr. Phil maintains a detrimental neutral stance with couples reporting violence in their relationships. Implications for therapists are discussed.

Couple Interactions as Portrayed in Television Comedy Series

Couple interactions in Emmy award-winning comedy series were analyzed to investigate whether healthy (positive) or unhealthy (negative) couple communication is portrayed in this type of television programming. John Gottmans extensive research on couples’ interactions as described in the popular book, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work (Gottman & Silver, 1999) guided this content analysis. Findings indicate that positive interactions were shown more often than negative interactions, and those individuals who were in a committed relationship had significantly more occurrences of negative interactions than individuals who were in a dating or ambiguous relationship. Implications for training therapists and for teaching clients to recognize major Gottman communication principles are discussed.

Flattening the Hierarchy

Abstract The authors explore the process of developing an advanced, doctoral-level course in feminist-informed family therapy (FIFT). The learning objectives of the course were to: (1) help students to further develop as feminists; and (2) integrate this feminist identity into our work as clinicians, researchers, and scholars. We met these course objectives using readings, journaling, clinical examples, and feminist supervision, and we offer guidance to other students and instructors who wish to integrate this type of course into an existing program. We highlight: course development and design; the development of our feminist identities; integration of feminist practice, supervision, research, scholarship, and pedagogy; and strengths and caveats of this course. We include our syllabus and other resources for those planning to develop a similar course.

Examining Ethnic Differences in Predictors of Female Adolescent Smoking in Rural Virginia.

ABSTRACT We examined the salience of multiple ecological factors (individual, family, peer, school, and community) as differential predictors of smoking for adolescent African-Americans and Whites in a sample of 2,029 7th–12th grade girls from a Mid-Atlantic southeastern state. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that significant predictors of smoking in the White female model included coping by taking drugs, grades, frequency of using alcohol, frequency of using marijuana, parent quality, and perceived availability of cigarettes. Significant predictors of smoking in the African-American female model included coping by taking drugs, attempted suicide, frequency of alcohol use, frequency of marijuana use, hours spent in club activities, hours spent in sports, and socioeconomic status. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.