ABSTRACT
The focus of cognitive analytic therapy is on recognising and changing patterns of relating to the self and others where this is both possible and desirable. However successful therapy also requires explicit recognition of the role that culture and structural oppression play in contributing to those patterns. Gender is a key area of difference between people, which can have a significant effect on our experiences and opportunities, and as such it is something that we as therapists should be concerned with.
Our gender identity is socially constructed throughout our life experiences. This can lead to patterns of relating to ourselves and others that we may assume are ‘natural’ or ‘typical’ of the way men or women are and that could also be constraining us. This chapter argues that CAT needs to find a position that recognises the existence of these patterns, while challenging them when they are unhelpful and not making assumptions about how men and women ‘should’ behave.
It is important to find ways to bring gender into our reformulations and our understanding about personality development. The chapter includes practical ideas of how to talk about gender in therapy and case examples to help us to consider how we can think about gender in a straightforward, compassionate and open-minded way.
