ABSTRACT
This chapter provides qualitative evidence relating to women’s complex negotiations of psychiatric and therapeutic discourses following experiences of violence. Narratives of medical and therapeutic practices demonstrate the possibilities and hazards of conceptualising women’s distress in contexts of gendered oppression through a lens of “trauma”. Interview data demonstrate the pervasive influence of the trauma paradigm in constructing understandings of abuse and its effects, and the prominence of therapy as a response. At the same time, the interviews reveal women’s resistance to the totalising assumptions offered by trauma discourses. Notions of trauma construct a validating narrative of distress, but an emphasis on symptom management within individuals precludes a fuller analysis of the gendered power relations underpinning violence against young women. Participation in therapy provides a source of support and empathy, but the limitations of the therapeutic relationship, for example, its inability to address issues of gender inequality, contribute to ongoing experiences of isolation and despair. The chapter concludes by examining possible responses extending beyond therapeutic support.
