Article Trauma Theory Without Feminism? Evaluating Contemporary Understandings of Traumatized Women

In this article, I critically examine contemporary notions of trauma and how they have informed mental health interventions for women. The feminist underpinnings of trauma therapy invite practitioners to understand women’s mental health ‘‘symptoms’ ’ within the context of such experiences as child abuse and sexual violence that disproportionately affect women. However, this article poses the question: Has trauma theory caused paradigmatic shifts in mental health inter-ventions that have increased practitioners ’ capacity to engage with sociopolitical issues, or are preexisting assumptions about the biological basis of women’s mental illness guiding treatment approaches simply by another name? Implications for social workers are discussed. Keywords feminist theories, mental health, postmodernism theory, resilience, social work practice This article examines the extent to which trauma theory has influenced a shift toward socially aware, anti-oppressive mental health interventions for women. Trauma theory, guided by feminist values, challenges the conventions of traditional mental health interventions with women by questioning the assertion that the assessment and diagnosis of clients are the cornerstones of effective work. As such