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*Note* This scheduling program was not designed by folks who do a lot with APA Style and unfortunately it defaults to listing authors in alphabetical order. We cannot fix this for this online schedule, but the author orders are posted in the order submitted in the printed program available via pdf here.
Gold Rush A [clear filter]
Thursday, March 5
 

8:00am PST

Women of Color Institute: Eradicating Myopic Thinking: The Root of Unconscious Bias - The Core of Racism
The focus of this session is unconscious bias and the racial micro-aggressions in which it often results. Within that context, workshop discussions will focus on the root cause of unconscious bias, its impact on recipients, and some very specific, effective strategies for eradicating it. This is a very interactive session.
Speakers
LN

Thursday March 5, 2015 8:00am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Pre-Conference, crosscultural issues, oppression and privilege

1:00pm PST

Women of Color Institute (Afternoon-Closed Session): The Psychology of Racism: Its Effect on Americans of Color – Internalized Oppression
Speakers
LN

Thursday March 5, 2015 1:00pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Pre-Conference
 
Friday, March 6
 

10:45am PST

'Black Men Teaching': Recruiting African-American Males into Education
Research indicates that less than two percent of K-12 educators are African American males (National Center for Education Statistic, 2010). In order to recruit African American men into teaching, the project, “Black Men Teaching” targets African American youth, especially from low-income neighborhoods, in hopes of inspiring them to become educators. This facilitated discussion is designed to bring together advocates of underserved, minority populations in hope of formulating new ideas to resolve this dilemma. The lack of Black men in education is problematic. One of the main reasons for the dismally low number of African-American male teachers is that African-American males hold negative views toward teaching as a career. Teaching is often viewed as a woman's profession and as a low-paying field (Smith, 2004). Black youth have had little exposure to positive role models in the educational setting. Without these role models, African American children lack the guidance needed to pursue a career in education. In addition, White children are disadvantaged. Stereotypes exists about Black men; Caucasian children would benefit from exposure to positive Black male role models in order to debunk these beliefs and create a society with less prejudice. Black youth from low-income communities are faced with the realities of oppression every day, causing them to make choices that may lead them to incarceration or even worse, death. By targeting these communities with an advocacy program such as “Black Men Teaching”, I believe we can help these children create promising futures. My goal for this facilitated discussion is to bring together professionals who are working in a similar area or have an interest in advocating for underserved, minority groups. I hope to create a space where we can discuss and develop new ways to recruit Black youth into education. In addition, this space can be used to discuss forms of oppression and barriers Black youth face, and ways to combat these problems.
Speakers
TH

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, adolescent issues, advocacy, community services, feminist issues for men, minority stress, oppression and privilege, poverty issues, social class, wealth

10:45am PST

'Your client said what!?” Supervisor-supervisee responses to client micro-aggressions
One of the noteworthy accomplishments of Feminist Therapy (FT) has been to highlight issues of power in the therapeutic relationship. Brown (n.d.) described FT as "a politically informed model that always observes human experience within the framework of societal and cultural realities, and the dynamics of power informing those realities." Historically, this perspective was essential as the therapist was a White, heterosexual, man and the client was a White woman. While White women continue to be the majority of therapy clients, the field of psychology is becoming more diverse. Minority students are increasingly recruited for psychology programs to become professors, therapists, and counselors. These students often bring a keen awareness and first-hand knowledge of issues of power to the counseling relationship. Many minority students experience "-isms" (e.g. racism, sexism) in their personal lives and training programs. As new therapists, they are often told that they have power, especially over the client, and cautioned about its misuse. However, when their clients, often white and female, engage in behaviors that recreate "-isms", minority therapists are often left feeling powerless and helpless. These difficulties are further exacerbated by supervisors who are unprepared to respond to supervisees’ experiences. They may blame/invalidate students for unsuccessful therapeutic work or not know how to help the therapist respond to the client. In this session we will share perspectives from supervisees and a supervisor on how “isms” impact the therapeutic process and the relationship. It is hoped that through engaging in this dialog, students and supervisors alike may learn strategies of empowerment in an inherently dis-empowering situation. Part of this process involves deconstructing the hurtful interaction taking place in the room between therapist and client. An equally important part of the process involves restorative justice, the act of healing these wounds in a safe, responsive supervisor-supervisee relationship.
Speakers
RS
BC
NK

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, clinical practice issues-feminist, power

10:45am PST

A Feminist-Multicultural Approach to Restoring Training Experiences for Women of Color Psychology Graduate Students
Feminist and multicultural perspectives in training and supervision can serve women of color graduate students in their professional identity development and promote their success in graduate programs. Presenters will facilitate a collaborative discussion with participants around approaches that can improve the training experiences of women of color while also strengthening systemic commitment to cultural competency.
Speakers
MV
DP

Diana Peña

UC Berkeley

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, feminist theory, intersectionality

10:45am PST

Building Restorative Justice in the Education Continuum and Latin@ Leadership
This structured discussion has a two-pronged focus: the broad implementation of restorative justice practices and principles across the educational spectrum and the seeming paucity of Latin@ facilitators in the restorative justice movement in Oakland. In focusing on broad implementation of restorative justice in education, the presenters seek to destabilize the silo-zation of restorative justice wisdom within and among educators and community organizers. Through this process the presenters hope to stimulate and engage in a richer and deeper cross-disciplinary discussion with the hope of creating connection between different arms and geographical locations of restorative justice practitioners. The second prong of the structured discussion is meant to highlight the apparent lack of Latin@ practitioners in the local restorative justice movement. In contrast to the African-American community which has embraced and, in many cases, led this justice movement, Latin@s seem to lag behind in adopting RJ practices and principles. This is a potentially important oversight given the high rate of Latin@s in the justice system and the long history of cultural, communal and individual trauma with in the Latin@ community. The presenters see restorative justice as a healing and transformative practice with great potential in the Latin@ community. The presenters are curious about the rate of the Latin@ community’s engagement with restorative justice across the country, and would like to know how to better engage with Latin@ community in Oakland. Future trajectories of this discussion include, but are not limited to, creating a community conference that bring all arms of restorative justice to together to discuss practices and principles, bringing existing Latin@ facilitators together to create solidarity, and training Latin@ facilitators to heal their respective communities. The dialogue will be held in circle and use the world cafe method to deepen the dialogue with the participants. All levels of participation are most welcome.
Speakers
HM
SS

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, Hispanic, Latina, Chicana women

10:45am PST

Learning in the Context of Community: Peer Educators Engage in Social Action and Restorative Justice Work
Peer education is an approach to psychoeducational learning through which students learn from and interact with their peers rather than faculty or staff. Peer educators may solidify their own learning through facilitating workshops and presentations with their peers on topics related to health and mental health (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson, 2011). Additionally, Williams reported, “Learning done in the context of community creates rich opportunities for complex interactions with students different from one another” (Williams, 2011). Interactive learning “in the context of community” lends itself well to focusing a peer education program on the intersections of mental health and social and restorative justice. Although students involved in social and restorative justice based peer education programs have reported profound and transformative learning experiences in terms of insights about others as well as themselves, these programs are rare on college campuses (Voorhees & Petkas, 2011). The Multicultural Immersion Program (MIP) at UC-Davis is celebrating its 18th year as a peer education program sponsored by the Counseling Center that focuses on social and restorative justice work and the intersections of mental health and oppression. This structured discussion will feature past and current MIP peer educators along with their Counseling Center staff coordinators, who will discuss the evolution of their feminist, social and restorative justice work on campus. In the first part of this discussion facilitators will share their experiences in the MIP program, the development of their multicultural dialogue skills through their collaborations with community partners on campus, and the impact the program has had on them both personally and professionally. The facilitators will then engage the participants in discussion and in generating ideas for bringing peer-led social and restorative justice programming to campuses and organizations in which participants are involved.
Speakers
EA
MC

Marilyn Chung

Southern Illinois University Carbondale
SY
LA
MY
TL
JH
MB

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, acculturation, crosscultural issues, feminist activism - backlash, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, restorative justice

10:45am PST

Masculinity collaborating with feminism to promote gender equality.
Feminism can be defined as the promotion of equality among genders (Walby, 2011). In practice, feminism often focuses on women’s experiences. One question that remains is: How does masculinity intertwine with those of femininity in order to promote equality among genders? Instead of looking at the differences between masculinity and femininity, a better approach could be to look at both gender ideas to achieve a higher level of equality. Is there a way to promote the positive aspects of masculinity and femininity simultaneously? Many times there can be a negative view on masculinity based on aggression, discrimination, and societal double standards. These negative issues of masculinity have often been paired with the discrimination of females within our society (Barbeluscu & Bidwell, 2013). It could be easy to think that there may be negative feelings attached to masculinity. Understanding each others’ perspectives on gender and their roles could help bring about restorative justice on equality between genders. In this structured discussion, we will be talking about masculinity and how it relates to equality. Thus, the conversation will be on the promotion of positive masculinity and the ways it could have positive impact on equality. We will explore different ways of promoting masculinity through the thoughts and feelings of the survivors, offenders, and community members. By promoting femininity and masculinity as one, it is our hope that this will unite both concepts together in order to diminish gender-based segregation. Throughout history, societal behaviors have been passive and at times accepting of inequalities placed upon the female gender. By working together, we would no longer be segregating genders, but uniting them and moving forward to promote equality.
Speakers
EA

Ernesto Alonso

CSU San Bernardino
MB

Manijeh Badiee

CSU San Bernardino
BS

Bryan Sanchez

CSU San Bernardino

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, clinical practice issues-feminist

10:45am PST

Moving from White to Multi: The Process of Creating a Diverse Training Agency
Women’s Therapy Center (WTC) is a feminist psychodynamic social justice oriented training clinic. Our faculty wants to talk with people from other training agencies about creating more racial/ethnic diversity among faculty, supervisors and trainees. We have created a diverse training cohort, and hope to learn more about attracting faculty and supervisors. WTC was founded in 1978 as a place for experienced women therapists to train beginning therapists in work with female clients. Although WTC has always had small numbers of women of color affiliated with our training programs, our organization has historically been predominantly White. Our agency has served a diverse client population for many years. We have successfully turned a corner over the past six years, so that people of European descent are no longer the majority of people training with us. This was not an easy thing to achieve. There were many conversations and many mistakes. We made changes to our admissions criteria that expanded access to us, and we changed our curriculum to be more inclusive. We had many diversity trainings aimed at both students and faculty. We have stopped seeing people of color as the only carriers of culture, and begun to recognize the culture of Whiteness that our organization embodied. Having an all-volunteer faculty and supervisory staff added to our challenges for diversifying. In our early years, we were most interested in the way that sexism, within the gender binary, shaped women’s lives. We now include an understanding of the ways that all social location shapes our internal and external lives. Although we continue to be predominantly a women’s organization, our understanding of gender has expanded and we now serve and train transgender/genderqueer people as well as women. We hope our conversation can also include the complexity of this shift.
Speakers
JA

Jane Ariel

Women's Therapy Center
EJ

Elsa Johnson

Women's Therapy Center
JL

Janet Linder

Women's Therapy Center
EM

Elena Moser

Women's Therapy Center
LS

Lili Shidlovski

Women's Therapy Center
VM

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, clinical practice issues-feminist, crosscultural issues, Euro-American-White women, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, transgender issues-gender queer-gender spectrum

10:45am PST

The Costs and Benefits of Addressing Microaggressions in Academic Spaces
This discussion will focus on the all-too-common yet aversive experiences marginalized group members endure in academic spaces. Specifically, this discussion will tackle the ways in which experiences of microaggressions, prejudice, and discrimination create inner turmoil, distractions, and strain for their recipients as students, mentors, counselors, instructors, researchers, and faculty (e.g., Gomez, Khurshid, Freitag & Lachuk, 2011; Minikel-Lacocque, 2013). In an oppressive society, the burden of proof is assigned to targets of discrimination to address such comments and behaviors and consider the potential costs and benefits associated with confronting colleagues, peers, and students (e.g., Rollock, 2012). In addition to giving way to internalized feelings of doubt, guilt, and apprehension, power dynamics further complicate the process of determining the worthiness of identifying and confronting issues of injustice in a professional setting. The experience of marginalized group members in higher education has been well documented in the literature (e.g., Turner, 2002). Although universities push diversity initiatives, informal interpersonal interactions can lack respect of diverse experiences and celebration of inclusivity. Despite a safe and welcoming social climate being amenable to productivity, connectedness, and overall satisfaction, many reports indicate an unfortunate narrative of alienation and self-doubt for marginalized group members (Constantine, Smith, Redington, & Owens, 2008). These authors found that those who try to navigate these experiences often feel they must “choose [their] battles carefully.” This discussion will expand on the decision making process for having to address discrimination, and highlight the diverse positions we take in order to survive in academic spaces. We hope to learn from participants ways in which they have navigated (successfully and unsuccessfully) difficult dialogues, discuss the potential impact on our professional development, and seek informal advice from one another on self-care, acts of resistance, acts of silence, etc. amidst adverse academic cultures.
Speakers
EA
KF
CP
SR

Friday March 6, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, feminist activism - backlash, minority stress

1:05pm PST

Building and Maintaining Multicultural Feminist Research Support Communities
Developing a national/international support system for conducting multicultural feminist (MCF) research can foster the productivity required of tenure-track faculty and build connections for continued career development (e.g., networking for future jobs). Building MCF communities develops sustainability in the often patriarchal, competitive, and isolative academic systems (Arczynski, 2014; Porter and Vasquez, 1997). Academic departments can render feminist and multicultural research and scholarship invisible by being unaware, minimally, or by being actively oppositional, maximally, towards scholarship that seeks to investigate MCF topics (Arczynski, 2014). Previous research validated that reaching out for support and connecting with scholars who promoted a MCF orientation can serve to help faculty make sense of being challenged or marginalized for and serve to energize and support a MCF research agenda (Arczynski, 2014; Szymanski, 2003). By building MCF communities, scholarship devised to promote social change, equity, and inclusion can be fostered and supported (Morrow & Hawxhurst, 1984). Creating MCF research communities can emerge in many local, national, and international forms. The purpose of the roundtable is to bring together MCF researchers to talk about how we can support each other in developing publications, grant applications, and overall tenure track career trajectories. Christensen and Arczynski will describe their approach to building a qualitative MCF research community. Then, we seek to examine varied challenges participants have experienced in developing and maintaining supportive research communities. Next, we focus on facilitating participants’ sense of empowerment to build their own collaborative MCF scholarship communities by identifying plans of action. Participants will be encouraged to identify strategies for collaboration. For example, participants may identify the following options as promoting tenure-track sustainability: (a) Peer review before submission (critique papers before submitting for publication); (b) Incorporating authors (inviting colleague MCFs to join manuscripts); (c) Develop collaborations (cross-disciplinary, multi-site); and (d) Acquire seasoned mentors for guidance.
Speakers
MC

M. Candace Christensen

University of Texas San Antonio
AA

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, research-methodological issues, education-training

1:05pm PST

Creating Space and Boundaries: Lessons on Feminist Mentoring from Feminist Mentors
Mentoring is a critical skill for both clinical and academic psychologists. Although we have all benefited from being mentored as students, trainees, and colleagues, few of us have received formal training on how to mentor others. Indeed, many of us learn how to mentor “on the job”. For those early in their careers, there may be difficulties associated with enacting feminist models of mentoring that are typically collaborative and hierarchy-free, especially when mentees are unaccustomed with such models. In this interactive panel, sponsored by the early career caucus, four renowned feminist psychologists and mentors will discuss their experiences of feminist mentoring. Panelists will answer questions and provide advice to those looking to develop and/or improve feminist mentoring of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students and clinical trainees.
Speakers
JH
KE
MM
CM

Clare Mehta

Emmanuel College
IF
IS

Isis Settles

Michigan State University

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, early career issues, education-training

1:05pm PST

Diversity Training and Multicultural Competence: Moving from Shame and Blame to Real Change
Many of the participants at AWP are committed to efforts to reduce prejudice and discrimination of all kinds. And many of us have been frustrated when those efforts seem to go nowhere, or to create huge psychological reactance, or even to blow up in our faces. Conversely, many of us have participated in diversity trainings that leave us underwhelmed or feeling ashamed but with no tools for moving forward. Frustrated by these sorts of experiences, we went back to the drawing board to try to figure out what approaches might be more productive. We were excited by the emerging research on implicit attitudes and how much that research helped to explain about what does and does not work when purple tackle challenging learning at implicit as well as at explicit levels. We have been developing and applying a model based on the implicit attitudes research. We have used the model in a number of contexts, including general diversity training, work with academically at-risk college students, individual and group therapy, trainings on oppression and privilege, teaching at different levels, and consultation and outreach. The model has shown great promise, and we have received uniformly positive evaluations from a large variety of participants. We would like to use a structured workshop to share this model with AWP participants and to find out what approaches and methods they have been finding helpful. We propose offering a brief introduction about the challenges of creating spaces in which participants can feel safe enough to work to undo prejudicial attitudes and behaviors. We want to introduce them to the approaches we have been developing and we want to hear what approaches they have been finding useful in whatever contexts they do their work.
Speakers
GR
AI

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, oppression and privilege, crosscultural issues

1:05pm PST

Faculty Leadership: Challenges and Strategies
Resources exist for women interested in moving into administrative leadership positions (e.g., HERS program). However, there is little guidance for those interested in leadership opportunities within the faculty (e.g., department chair, faculty committee chair). Knowing that service is often evaluated in promotion and tenure decisions with less emphasis than teaching and scholarship, junior faculty often wait until after they are tenured to become significantly involved in faculty governance. However, this impedes them from having a track record necessary to be perceived as faculty leaders amongst their colleagues and by the administration (Chrisler, Herr, & Murstein, 1998). For women, there are still additional hurdles for entering leadership positions, because institutions which reproduce inequality within their governance structure are resistant to change (Dean, Bracken, & Allen, 2009). Although women are able to move into leadership roles (e.g., department chairs) in traditionally male-dominated professions, they are still expected to exhibit both masculine/agentic and feminine/communal behaviors in order to be successful (Isaac, Griffin, & Carnes, 2010). Formal faculty influence in institutional governance is steadily decreasing (O’Meara, LaPointe Terosky, & Neumann, 2008), yet faculty involvement directly affects the strength and influence of their participation in critical institutional decisions. This structured discussion will be facilitated by women who serve (or have served) in such roles in recent years. We will discuss strategies for becoming an effective faculty leader (e.g., networking, cultivating a reputation as an independent thinker, understanding the culture and political climate of the institution, as well as the issues affecting higher education) based upon personal experiences, as well as the existing literature (e.g., Kezar & Lester, 2009; Lester & Kezar, 2012; Schoorman & Acker-Hocevar, 2010). NOTE: Sponsored by the Early Career Caucus
Speakers
NB

Nicole Buchanan

Michigan State University
KS
LL

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, advocacy, feminist ethics, social policy-politics

1:05pm PST

Restorative Practice Applications in Multicultural Training
To become culturally competent (APA, 2002), graduate psychology students must reflect on themselves and others in a cultural context. Toward this end, taking risks that involve authentic exploration of complex multicultural dynamics often invokes discomfort, fear, and, at times, conflict. In multicultural training, conflicts may involve intersections of multiple identities and dynamics around privilege, oppression, and power. Oftentimes unconscious biases, stereotypes, and internalized oppression are the undercurrents of these challenging dynamics. These classroom conflicts, ruptures, and microaggressions (Sue, 2010) may provide rich examples of the lived experiences of historical and systemic oppression - a microcosm of the larger society. Restorative practices can be used to address conflicts, ruptures and microaggressions that occur in the classroom. Restorative pedagogy helps to inform responses to difficult classroom situations through the teaching of the restorative mindset and values, as well as restorative modeling by the instructors (Hopkins, 2012). Restorative values involve a commitment to community, connection, transformation, and power-sharing (Gavrielides, 2014), which may represent a superordinate goal (Ridley, 2006) that helps students come together to address injustice, not solely from an individual interaction level but from a more interdependent and collective level. Additionally, conflict resolution and shame management within restorative models (Morrison & Ahmed, 2006) are critical to navigate challenging classroom situations. The presenters have many years of collective experience training, presenting, and publishing in multicultural psychology and have worked collaboratively to consider how best to interrupt classroom conflicts and microaggressions. The aim of this structured discussion is to bring educators together to discuss and explore the ways in which restorative practices can facilitate connection and community in the classroom even after ruptures, resistance, and microaggressions have taken place. Practical strategies for applications of restorative practices into curriculum design and group facilitation will be explored through the use of vignettes and structured questions. References American Psychological Association, Joint Task Force of APA Divisions 17 (Counseling Psychology) and 45 (The Society of the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues)(2002). Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/policy/multicultural-guidelines.aspx Gavrielides, T. (2014). Bringing race relations into the restorative justice debate: An alternative and personalized vision of “the other.” Journal of Black Studies, 45, 216-246. Doi: 10.1177/0021934714526042. Hopkins, B. (2012, Annual). Restorative justice as social justice. Nottingham Law Journal, 21, 121+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA327955043&v=2.1&u=nu_main&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=bf02a1c794152edc60972aa4cca07215 Morrison, B. & Ahmed, E. (2006). Restorative justice and civil society: Emerging practice, theory, and evidence. Journal of Social Issues, 62(2), 209-215. Ridley, C.R. (2006). Surmounting resistance to multicultural training. Presented at the Convention of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA. Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions, marginality, and oppression: An introduction. D.W. Sue (Ed.), Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Speakers
KY
SM
JM
MR
AG
HD

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, oppression and privilege, restorative justice

1:05pm PST

Succeeding in Graduate School While Failing at Being a 'Good” Minority
This presentation will focus on the trials and tribulations faced by students of color when negotiating the predominantly White system that is academia. White people, specifically, White women are the majority demographic of doctoral program graduates in the United States and the field of psychology (APA, 2012). Students of color occupy a liminal space in which they are celebrated for their diversity; at the same time, existing stereotypes of minorities are used to create narratives of their identity for them. The expectation to fit this narrative creates internal conflict for these students. Additionally, when minority students do not act according to these expected stereotypes, academia is ill-equipped to respond. Therefore, these students of color end up being typecast as “problematic” and “atypical.” This issue, though an important piece in the broader mosaic of multicultural issues in psychology, is not frequently acknowledged or deconstructed. Ignoring the problem perpetuates a system wherein students of color are disempowered and then question their ability to succeed (Ewing, Richardson, James-Meyers & Russell, 1996). This influences their progress through their graduate program of study. The presenters will deconstruct how this issue affects students’ progress in their academic program and negatively impacts overall well-being. For instance, this disempowerment can manifest itself as students of color trying to change their behavior to become a tokenized minority, between-group struggles, within-group distrust, and trying to “act White.” The presenters will also discuss factors that aid in graduate students’ success and overall well-being. These factors, internal and external, include identifying this phenomena as it occurs, not internalizing it, developing discourses of empowerment, forming healthy support systems, self-care, and confronting impostor syndrome, among others.
Speakers
RS
BC
NK

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, achievement, minority stress

1:05pm PST

Supporting ourselves and each other: First generation, low-income, and women of color graduate student’s experiences
Graduate school can be a challenging experience for many students due to life changes and intensified pressures. The many stressors of graduate school (i.e., financial/debt, academic responsibilities, anxiety, poor work and school-life balance, isolation/lack of social support) can compromise optimal functioning and negatively impact physical and mental health (Myers, Sweeney, Popick, Wesley,Bordfeld, & Fingerhut, 2012). These stressors may be exacerbated for students who are underrepresented in the academe (e.g., first generation, low income, female, person of color). For example, experiencing prejudice and discrimination (El-Ghoroury, Galper, Sawaqdeh, & Bufka, 2012; Willison & Gibson, 2011), being underprepared to manage time and work independently, limited finances, and difficulty developing social support systems can create additional obstacles for first generation, low income, women of color scholars (Willison & Gibson, 2011). Further, while there has been an increase in the number of underrepresented students admitted into graduate programs generally, these students are completing their degree or seeking post-graduate employment in the academy at lower rates (Levin, Jaeger, & Haley, 2013; Willison & Gibson, 2011). Students may feel isolated in their experiences and lack a venue to discuss struggles and experiences related to their identity and background. The goals of this structured discussion are to create a space for underrepresented graduate students to share our experiences and explore how we can support ourselves and each other. This discussion is intended to serve as a space for personal reflection, voluntary sharing of one’s own struggles and triumphs during graduate school, supportive listening, and building community.
Speakers
CB
CS
SK

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, minority stress

1:05pm PST

Walking the Line: On Feminism within a Patriarchal Culture
There are intersections of identities that may appear to be a contradiction. Occasionally these intersections lead to cognitive dissonance whereby accepting one identity indicates the denial of another. This structured discussion will focus on two specific identities, identifying as a feminist and identifying with a culture that is patriarchal. Patriarchal cultures typically have values that are viewed as oppressive to women. Take for example the Hmong culture where daughters are traditionally raised under the notion that they will one day marry and no longer belong with their birth family. Upon marriage, Hmong daughters will be a part of their husband’s family instead. This belief traditionally privileges Hmong sons and men over Hmong daughter or women. Another example is when Hmong women get out of abusive marriages and experience shaming and rejection from their own community. Some Hmong women believe their culture or even their birth parents have betrayed them. Feeling rejected by other Hmong people, divorced Hmong women often feel as though they cannot go back to their cultural community. The current structured discussion will provide some cultural contexts to the examples provided above. The goal of the discussion is to compile ideas for women who feel like they have been wronged by their culture so they may have restorative justice. This discussion gives women in psychology a chance to voice stories, opinions, and ideas on how to be a feminist within a patriarchal culture.
Speakers
LC

Leslie C. Bautista

University of Minnesota
TV

Friday March 6, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, acculturation, Asian women, clinical practice issues-feminist, gender differences-gender role, identity values, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, restorative justice

2:25pm PST

Finding and Developing a Feminist Mentorship: Discussion Points for Mentors and Mentees
Within the world of feminist scholarship, students rely on their teachers to educate them about the past as well as guide them into the future. Developing an effective relationship with a feminist mentor is critical for students who want to pursue feminist academia and is also beneficial to the mentors themselves. Students gain valuable guidance and support while advisors are offered new feminist perspectives as a result of engaging with fresh ideas. Both benefit from the enjoyment of pursuing a shared passion. This discussion will cover a range of topics relevant to both students and professors who are either considering or already involved in mentorship. By combining perspectives, we believe these groups can learn from each other about how to be a valuable mentee or mentor. We hope to address students’ concerns with questions such as: How do students determine what type of working relationship to commit to? How do they decide which professional complements their feminist interests? How might they pursue their passion through scholarship? Discussion points will give professors an opportunity to offer valuable insights from past experiences, as well as discover how they can more successfully connect with students and lead them to find answers to these questions. For example, how can teachers incorporate feminist theory into their lectures? Further, how can they encourage feminist praxis and individual development of ideas outside of the classroom? Of course, there are topics for continuous dialogue between professors and students looking to build a professional relationship. What makes a good mentor/mentee partnership? How can such a relationship be continued after the student graduates from their current institution? By creating and fostering relationships between students and professors, each subsequent generation of feminists can further the developments already made and reach new milestones of their own.
Speakers
CK
LP

Friday March 6, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Poster, education-training, achievement, feminist activism - backlash, leadership

2:25pm PST

Advocating for Action: Psychology and Ferguson
Media coverage of Michael Brown’s murder and Ferguson protests have brought into the national spotlight issues that have affected communities of color, particularly black communities, for decades. Although various activist organizations have joined in solidarity with this movement (Bosman, 2014), mainstream media attention is waning and the U.S. government has taken a passive approach (Horwitz & Kindy, 2014; Trott, 2014). As students in counseling psychology, we have found ourselves wondering what the role of psychologists (and future psychologists) can and should be in this movement. Within our own graduate program, a discussion group has evolved out of these events, but deciding how to take action beyond discussion has proven more difficult to accomplish. Racial justice is long overdue--over 150 years since the abolition of slavery, and we are still waiting. Considering the conference theme, we seek to explore what restorative justice might look like in in the case of communities like Ferguson. In areas with a long history of institutional power being used to exploit and oppress, where might the community even begin to restore justice? How can psychologists be most helpful to the social movements already in progress to combat these injustices? What about graduate students? Certainly, research on white privilege and racial prejudice has been one major contribution of the field and should not be discounted. For example, Eberhardt, Goff, Purdie and Davies (2004) found that white males processed weapon imagery faster when primed with black male faces compared to the no-prime control and processed these same images slower when primed with white faces compared to the no-prime control. Although published in 2004, the research remains pertinent today and has clear implications for legislation surrounding events like Michael Brown’s murder. But what is our responsibility to more immediate action when innocent people are dying?
Speakers
CP
CW
MC

Friday March 6, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, social policy-politics, advocacy, African-American women, Euro-American-White women, intersectionality, minority stress , oppression and privilege, power, restorative justice, social class, wealth, poverty issues

2:25pm PST

Community-Based Research to Empower a Community
Structured Discussion - Community-Based Research to Empower a Community The Latino population is among the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. This group is projected to make up one fifth of the population by 2020 (Pew Hispanic Center, 2006). Alongside their growing numbers, they have face problems such as discrimination, microaggression, and stigmatization. Furthermore, there is a significant disparity in mental health services used between Latinos and Caucasians (Keyes, Martins, Hatzenbuehler, Blanco, Bates, & Hasin, 2012). This is a concern given that more than half of Latina women experience interpersonal violence within their lifespan (Cuevas, Sabina, & Bell, 2012). In addition, it is common for Latina women to wait for mental health symptoms to worsen before seeking help, leading to negative outcomes (Keyes, Martins, Hatzenbuehler, Blanco, Bates, & Hasin, 2012). In our community research project, we engaged Latina women in focus groups and interviewed them in order to understand community needs and empowerment process. This structured discussion will focus on using community based research to empower Latina women in our community. We will talk about the impact of research as well as our responsibility as researchers to help strengthen our communities. This is important because it has been shown that research can either be beneficial or damaging to a community (Ojeda, Flores, Rosales, and Morales, 2012, p. 185). We will discuss struggles one may encounter in conducting community-based research and how to overcome these issues. We will further discuss the importance of community based research and how we can promote it in our community. We believe knowledge obtained from this study can be an important tool to help establish effective methods for reducing negative outcomes that Latina women often experience.
Speakers
EA

Evelyn Ayala

CSU San Bernardino
MB

Manijeh Badiee

CSU San Bernardino
MC

Monica Cuevas

CSU San Bernardino

Friday March 6, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, psychological assessment

2:25pm PST

Encouraging Activism and Social Change
Feminist multicultural therapists assert that contextual factors, such as oppression and discrimination, contribute to psychological distress, limit access to resources and information, and isolate individuals from sustaining communities (e.g., Brown, 2010). They suggest that participation in social justice activism contributes to psychological wellbeing, such as increased empowerment, social connectedness, and resilience (e.g., Arczynski, 2014; Worell & Remer, 2003). Activism is also a way people may nurture and care for themselves as well as others in their community(s) while reducing oppression, harassment, and marginalization. Hagen (2013) demonstrated that individuals with diverse circumstances, with varied social identities, and from various social contexts may prefer different types of social justice activism. Further, the different activisms people reported preferring and engaging in held different socio-cultural-political meaning and relevance based on their beliefs, values, and experiences of oppression and privilege (Hagen, 2013). The purpose of this structured discussion is to cultivate participants’ empowerment to create positive social change in their varied communities. We will encourage a broad conceptualization of activism in order to include behaviors and strategies on micro, meso/community, and macro levels. We will give attention and sensitivity to different socio-cultural perspectives on oppression, power, and privilege. First, we focus on discussing specific concerns and experiences of oppression and marginalization relevant to participants’ communities (e.g., home, work, churches, families, friend networks). Then, we anticipate dialoguing about specific social justice activisms that participants presently engage in or have interest in doing in order to target oppression observed in participants’ local and national communities. Last, we will encourage participants to brainstorm strategies for collaborating with other people to increase social support; challenge discrimination, and increase access to opportunities, information, and resources. In this structured discussion, we will address challenges and benefits associated with engaging in activism.
Speakers
AA
WH

Friday March 6, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, feminist activism - backlash, advocacy, creativity, crosscultural issues, feminist ethics, feminist issues for men, feminist theory, identity values, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, restorative justice

2:25pm PST

Feminism across the lifespan: Planning for AWP 2016
Join us for a structured discussion focused on conference planning for the 2016 conference in Pittsburgh, PA. The theme of the conference will be “Strong girls and wise women: Sustaining feminism for the future.” Our primary goal for this conference is to highlight and explore the ways in which a feminist ethos can benefit girls and women throughout the lifespan. In particular, we are interested in exploring how AWP can focus on girls. We will consider ways in which feminism can supplement girls’ natural resilience in order to assist them in navigating the challenges they will face as participants in a patriarchal culture. Presenters will be prepared to provide examples of specific key issues facing girls and young women today, and we would like to solicit other examples from session attendees. In addition to our focus on girls, the conference co-coordinators would also like to foster a discussion about the challenges faced by older women and consider the ways in which older feminists can provide support and wisdom for future generations. This structured discussion will also involve exploration of specific programming that attendees would like to see carried out at the next conference (2016), as well as ideas for conference activities and events that attendees have found to work well at past conferences. Opportunities to assist in conference planning include tasks that can be done from a distance. Examples of ways to become involved include working with a specific sub-committee (such as Activism events) or working on specific conference related tasks (helping with registration).
Speakers
BB
LK
DH
KH

Friday March 6, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, advocacy

2:25pm PST

How to be social change agents as counseling psychologists: Future directions and goals
Many of us have been trained as change agents in psychology. Women of Color of diverse Asian ethnicities raised at the intersections of gender and ethnic socialization have challenged dominant discourses of the quiet, subservient Asian female worker bee (Okubo, 2013). This panel of women of Japanese, Korean and Filipina descent, trained as counseling psychologists early and mid-career academics but working in non-counseling graduate programs as faculty members and in senior administration will facilitate a discussion on issues related to race, gender, power and privilege and strategies to leverage privileges we have to disrupt oppressive practices in the academia. Counseling Psychologists have unique training that allow us to be aware of power, privilege, and oppression at individual, cultural, institutional, and societal levels, and we are equipped to facilitating dialogues and concerted effort to instigating positive, meaningful changes. By critically examining our positionalities and missed opportunities from the past, we would like to engage with the discussion attendees to generate action plans as social change agents. We would like to facilitate the structured discussion using the following questions: How can we leverage our positionalities to be more effective allies considering our interactionality of privileged and marginalized identities? What have been the missed opportunities? How are we unwittingly serving as what Kivel calls the buffer class between the 1% and the lowest earning 80%? By identifying such instances and learning from them, we aim to facilitate discussion of how we can instigate meaningful changes as social change agents.
Speakers
YO
AK
JP

Friday March 6, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, oppression and privilege, Asian women, education-training, intersectionality, power, vocational-work issues

3:45pm PST

Creating A New Direction Towards Healing with Art and Advocacy for Adolescent Victims and Survivors of Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking
The purpose of this structured discussion is to address the issue of sexual exploitation and trafficking among young women in the Bay Area, and explore potential ideas for creating opportunities for healing, restorative justice, and social change that meet this population’s unique needs. “Every day of the year, thousands of America’s children are coerced into performing sex for hire. Some of these children are brutally beaten and raped into submission. Others are literally stolen off the streets, then isolated, drugged, and starved until they become “willing” participants” (California Child Welfare Council (CCWC), 2013, p.5). The presenter will discuss her experience working with these young women and the therapeutic benefits she has observed when incorporating art therapy with the feminist approach and survivor-informed practices to facilitate empowerment and healthy expression. According to Riley (1990), art therapy is helpful with adolescents because the problem becomes externalized within the art image, which shows that the problem is the problem and not the client (p. 249). This discussion will focus on the systems of oppression related to the victims and survivors of sex trafficking in response to race, gender, age, socio-economic status, and psychological resources. Victims whom are forced into captivity and continually abused after previously being abused, induce more harm and trauma to the body, mind, and soul (Herman, 1997, p. 18). Many of them return back to the streets because specialized services are not in place and majority of victims do not have supportive families to return to (CCW, 2013). Participants will explore ideas of community-based interventions and incorporating art as part of the healing process. The goal of this structured discussion is to collaborate with women in the field of psychology and explore therapeutic practices that will aid this unique population in restorative justice, healing, and community change.
Speakers
SM

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, restorative justice, adolescent issues, advocacy, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, creativity, feminist theory, therapy-abuses of therapy

3:45pm PST

Fulfilling the promise; AWP at the united nations.
More than ever, our work as Non-Government Organizations at the United Nations is valuable. We have been consulted on UN policies and practices, encouraged to network with UN agencies, and included in some programme matters. in this session, we would like to highlight some of those activities.
Speakers
JW
MH
NL

NgaPing Lam

Brooklyn College
DR

Diagou Regina Sissoko

Hunter College

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, advocacy, community services, international issues, power

3:45pm PST

Goddesses of Mercy and Strength: A Conversation about the Restorative Images that Guide Doctoral Students
In this conversation hour, we will open with a brief meditation that invites imagery around Goddesses of mercy and strength. Examples will be provided in regard to distinct ways that Goddess images and one’s relationship with such can foster solace and strength in difficult times of uncertainty and stress for doctoral students. In addition, we will discuss how the use of images of the Goddess from diverse cultures, historical periods, and religious traditions can be used to provide a standpoint for women from multicultural backgrounds and foster a dynamic community. A discussion about nuances of experience around how the embodiment of such qualities may serve a restorative function for one’s relationship with self and others will take place. The humanistic/depth foundations of a feminist and contextual approach to pedagogy will also be discussed. Personal sharing will follow. The conversation hour will close with another brief meditation to ground participants in embodying representative qualities of mercy and strength that have been shared in the conversation circle.
Speakers
OY
JR

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, spirituality - religion

3:45pm PST

Hurt People Hurt People: Courageous Conversations for Jews about Israel-Palestine, including the 2014 Gaza War
This open-hearted invitation for Jewish women will consider: “It was not enough to take the Jews out of Egypt; it was also necessary to take Egypt out of the Jews.” We will compassionately challenge ourselves to confront fears, face discomfort, and envision just, peaceful and secure futures for Palestinian-and-Israeli peoples.
Speakers
PR

Penny Rosenwasser

City College of San Francisco

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, Jewish women’s issues, oppression and privilege, restorative justice

3:45pm PST

International Students: Barriers, supports, growth and development
The present discussion will explore (1) the difficulties faced by international students, (2) the function of clinical supervision and academic advising to help reduce and manage the stressors and discrimination experienced by international students in counseling psychology, and (3) discuss the multicultural differences that affect professional and personal identity of the students.
Speakers
SP

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, international issues, education-training, oppression and privilege

3:45pm PST

Middle Eastern Women and Sexuality
The interaction of the Middle Eastern culture and its constrained depiction of sexuality has brought oppression to women and non-heteronormative sexualities. Middle Eastern women have been desexualized, and this creates an imminent need for a platform for Middle Eastern women to voice and begin a dialogue to reframe their sexuality.
Speakers
SA
JC
NM

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, female sexuality, acculturation, clinical practice issues-feminist, immigration, minority stress , oppression and privilege, sexual diversity

3:45pm PST

Mourning, Transformation, and Growth: Reflections of Immigrant Women Therapists Inside and Outside Clinical Space
As greater numbers of immigrant women enter training and practice of psychology in the United States, their voices and experiences may have a limited representation within Western psychological literature (Yakushko, 2009). Writings on immigrant experiences within Western scholarship often focus on such concepts as acculturation; frequently, this discourse dictates to immigrants what type of acculturative paths are most appropriate or “healthy” rather than allowing immigrants to pursue their own goals and pathways of adaptation (Yakushko & Consoli, 2014). In addition, immigrant literature often subsumes gender-specific aspects of migration within overall dialogue on migration that emphasizes experiences of men and those who have access to power (e.g., resources, education) over experiences of women (Yakushko & Espin, 2010). Moreover, the literature on migration often ignores the profoundly personal and contextually dynamic aspects of both the decision to relocate and integration within the new culture, including in the culture of Western psychology. For many, move to the United States spurs renegotiations of personal and professional selves. Differences in work culture, relationships, and perceived gender roles may bring on challenges, unexpected discoveries as well as new kind of resilience. The period of cultural splitting, mourning, and nostalgia (Lijtmaer, 2001) can resulted in the reuniting of cultural roots and a new appreciation of their significance in the re-formation of identity. A new type of “going on being” can emerge (Winnicott, 1956): living in two cultures simultaneously and drawing from each one to create a sense of united self. Therefore, the proposed discussion will briefly introduce participants to psychological experiences of several immigrant women in psychology, including women from Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Brazil, and Ukraine. The discussion will focus on vicissitudes of integrating the personal, the political, and the professional within psychological space with the goal to challenge and transform not only ourselves but also the field.
Speakers
EB
OY
YM
NK
AL

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, immigration, acculturation

3:45pm PST

Restoring agency and maintaining the family: Moving from Mandated Reporting to Therapeutic Reporting
Mandated reporting in psychotherapy is a frequently used intervention. Though the intent of the practice is to be therapeutic in its aim to protect children from inadequate or harmful care, the consequences of its execution can contradict its intent. This presentation will examine these contradictions and the ways in which dynamics of oppression, re-traumatization, and colonization are being expressed through mandated reporting laws. Using post colonial race theory, along with relational and social justice perspectives I will discuss the perpetuation and maintenance of a pervasive culture of oppression, where families of color are intruded upon, separated, and demeaned, in a disabling dynamic of powerlessness. The relationships between corporal punishment and discipline, and between families of color and institutional intervention will be observed through a historical lens. The instillation of fear and exhibition of power for purposes of control and capital are tactics that are still preserved in more subtle and nuanced way. This has been observed in my work in school-based and outpatient community mental health settings with primarily African American children and their mothers. Fear and distrust of the “system” (i.e. Therapists power/privilege to report abuse, threat of removal of children form home, the) in the context of therapy displayed by child clients and their mothers often complicates and slows an already vulnerable process of entering and remaining open through treatment. Consideration of the entire family system receives little attention or clinical thought, when reporting situations arise. Emphasis will be given to finding space to think about the impacts of this practice, while considering alternatives and/or modifications to approaching and implementing this intervention, with an interest in portraying and offering a less threatening, more therapeutic stance for families.
Speakers
AT

Friday March 6, 2015 3:45pm - 4:45pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, therapy-abuses of therapy, African-American women, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, community services, education-training, motherhood-parenting, oppression and privilege, restorative justice
 
Saturday, March 7
 

10:45am PST

Gender Roles Within the Context of Violence: How Feminist and Multicultural Psychology Can Inform Practice
This structured discussion will explore how we as mental health professionals can utilize feminist and multicultural psychology to engage clients in awareness of gender role socialization in ways that increase clients’ empowerment and promote restorative justice, particularly in the face of violence. Drawing on clinical experience and relevant literature, facilitators will consider ideas for effective therapeutic intervention and potential avenues for enhancing clinical training. Gender roles are the behaviors that individuals perform based on socially constructed expectations about what constitutes masculinity and femininity (Mahalik, Cournoyer, DeFranc, Cherry, & Napolitano, 1998). Recent literature on the topic emphasizes the effects of socialization that lead to adoption of gender roles and addresses the need to redefine power-based constructions of gender (Enns, 2004; Jones, 2003). Research has also begun to acknowledge the differences in gender roles across race and ethnicity (Crawford & Unger, 2004; Miville, 2013). In some cultures, unquestioned adaptation of prescribed gender roles, especially when they have power-based sociopolitical implications, can affect a person’s physical and mental wellbeing (Miville, Bratini, Corpus, Diaz, 2013). Using therapy to address such dynamics, clients may be better able to develop a fuller sense of themselves as gendered beings, which in turn may foster greater psychological health (Miville, Bratini, Corpus, & Diaz, 2013). In working with clients from a feminist perspective, special attention should be placed on the impact of gender role identity on physical and emotional violence, which requires therapists to explore clients’ beliefs related to masculinity and femininity (Sokoloff & Dupont, 2005). Special attention should be placed on how a female client’s gender role identity may impact her experience and understanding of physical and emotional violence (Crenshaw, 1991). In addition, when working through experiences of violence in therapy, an examination of gender role expectations may provide female clients with a deeper understanding of such experiences. It may also facilitate an opening to explore novel ways of developing restorative empowerment as clients heal from violence-related experiences. Per recent feminist literature, as instances of violence around the world increase, it becomes ever more imperative that the racial, ethnic, and gendered differences of such experiences are addressed (Crawford & Unger, 2004). It is therefore vital for therapists to gain an awareness of the influence of gender socialization on their clients’ lives and frame the context of therapy from this lens (Steigerwald & Forrest, 2004). Therapists should also evaluate how their own gender-based beliefs may contribute to their conceptualizations of the issues presented by their clients (Steigerwald & Forrest, 2004).
Speakers
MA
MB
NR
MM

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, clinical practice issues-feminist, advocacy, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, power

10:45am PST

Reclaiming a Stolen Maternal Identity: Restorative Practices for Mothers with Disabilities in the Historical Context of Forced Sterilization
Forced sterilization of women of color, including women with disabilities, has been an ongoing—though seldomly discussed—practice within the United States from the late 1800s through the present day (Lawrence, 2014). As recently as September 2014 , Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill banning California prisons from forcibly sterilizing women (Bhattarcharjee, 2014). The forced sterilization of women with disabilities is part of a larger historical trend within the U.S. that has used social policies, such as institutionalization and termination of parental rights, to regulate the mothering of women with disabilities (Lightfoot & LaLiberte, 2010). Additionally, women with disabilities contend with norms of femininity including idealized motherhood (Malacrida, 2009). In such a sociocultural atmosphere that condones the forced sterilization of women with disabilities, how do women cope with the psychological repercussions of sterilization and how do institutions that have been responsible for violating the reproductive rights of women begin to repair damage they have caused? How does this history of oppression influence the maternal identity development (Meighan, 2006) and reproductive story development (Jaffe & Diamond, 2010) of women with disabilities? The purpose of this purposed structured discussion is to examine restorative practices such as community, restorative circles, conflict management, and shame management (Wachtel, 2013) that will bring healing to the community of women with disabilities given the history of forced sterilization (Cohen & Bohifield, 2012; Nicholson, 2014) and facilitate a more positive maternal identity development. Two of the three presenters are mothers with disabilities. Through case studies of women who have experienced forced sterilization and mothers with disabilities, participants will explore and discuss issues of sexuality, maternal identity development, and the development of the reproductive story in the context of health disparities, especially with regard to obstetric/gynecological health of women with disabilities. References Bhattarcharjee, R. (2014, September 26). California bill bans forced sterilization of female inmates. September 26, 2014. NBC Bay Area. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Gov--Jerry-Brown-Signs-bill-to-End-Forced-Prison-Sterilization--277229702.html Cohen, E. & Bonifield, J. (2012, March 15). California’s dark legacy of forced sterilizations. CNN Health. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/health/california-forced-sterilizations/ Jaffe, J. & Diamond, M.O. (2010). Reproductive trauma: Psychotherapy with infertility and pregnancy loss clients. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Lawrence, M. (2014). Reproductive rights and state institutions: The forced sterilization of minority women in the United States (Senior Thesis). Retrieved from: http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/390 Lightfoot, E. & LaLiberte, T. (2010). The inclusion of disability as a condition for termination of parental rights. Child Abuse and Neglect, 34, 927-934. Malacrida, C. (2009). Performing motherhood in a disablist world: Dilemmas of motherhood, femininity, and disability. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(1), 99-117. Doi: 10.1080/09518390802581927 Meighan, M. (2006). Ramona T. Mercer: Maternal role attainment – becoming a mother. In A.M. Tomey & M.R. Alligood (Eds.), Nursing theorists and their work (pp. 605-622). St. Lous, MO: Mosby Elsevier. Nicholson, L. (2014, June 22). Confirmed: 39 women illegally sterilized in California prisons. Reuters. Retrieved from: http://rt.com/usa/167660-california-illegal-sterilization-women/ Wachtel, T. (2013). Defining restorative. International Institute of Restorative Practices. Retrieved from: http://www.iirp.edu/pdf/Defining-Restorative.pdf
Speakers
MC
KY
AC

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, motherhood-parenting, female sexuality, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, pregnancy-childbirth, reproductive issues - abortion, restorative justice, women and disabilities

10:45am PST

Social Justice and Duality: Treatment Implications for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Current Research highlights the discrepancy of treatment programs offered for incarcerated domestic violence and sexually exploited victims. New data on traumatic brain injury has highlighted the commonalities between victims and perpetrators in trauma history and social and emotional functioning. Social Justice measures of treatment propose the importance of treating and healing both the victim and the perpetrator through honesty and investigation of the ways in which society fails victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. This societal systemic failure leads the researcher advocate to the importance of early intervention and the inability to reach victims within the multilayered systems of education, legal, and foster care. The facilitators of this structured discussion will present case studies from the Margaret J. Kemp Girls Camp in San Mateo, CA, offering gender responsive programs to encourage rehabilitation for incarcerated adolescent girls and girls who are on probation. Young girls in this program hold current and historical dual roles of both perpetrator and victim. Current research shows young girls who suffer from traumatic histories find themselves vulnerable to becoming further victimized or becoming perpetrators in an effort to gain control and manage the environments they find themselves in. This experience ultimately increases the possibilities for violence, increasing the chances of extreme injury and acquired disability. The presenters will discuss how working with this culturally diverse and socially and economically disadvantaged population informs more appropriate treatment guidelines and intervention strategies. The discussion will open a space for dialogue around the provision of ethical client centered, feminist treatment interventions. Strategies for increasing educational programs in multilayered systems will also be explored.
Speakers
JF
MK

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, restorative justice, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, social class, wealth, poverty issues, women in jails and prisons

10:45am PST

Structured discussion: Training feminist therapists to work in correctional settings
During the past few decades, criminal justice policies have led to a dramatic increase in women behind bars (Willmott & van Olphen, 2005). Many women enter prison from a position of disadvantage and marginalization (Corston, 2007) due to past trauma, disempowerment, and poverty. Incarcerated women need mental health care which takes into account these interconnected environmental factors (Moloney & Moller, 2009). Instead, they often receive programming based on gender-based stereotypes (Chesney-Lind, 2003; Morash, Haarr, & Rucker, 1994) or on an adapted version of programming developed for men. Feminist therapy offers a way of helping incarcerated women deal with both past and current issues that are tailored to women. In addition, incarcerated men may also benefit from services grounded in a feminist model. Based on feminist tenets such as resistance, diversity, mutuality, and empowerment, it takes into account the unique needs of individuals in a social and political context (Marcus-Mendoza, 2004). Although feminist therapy can help incarcerated persons live and grow in a healthy manner, it can be difficult for professionals and graduate students alike to practice feminist therapy in correctional settings and to negotiate conflicts between the theory and the correctional system. Faculty, students, and alumni from Wright State University School of Professional Psychology propose hosting a structured discussion to explore the use of feminist therapy with incarcerated persons and how we can help psychology trainees to work from this model. We invite the audience to participate in our discussion about how we can better assist trainees to use feminist therapy within this setting by exploring the following challenges: educating corrections staff of effectiveness of feminist therapy; developing egalitarian therapeutic relationships; examining and resisting harmful social structures; advocating for gender-specific and/or trauma informed programming; exploring biases that impact clinical work; and advising students through the graduate training process (e.g., internship).
Speakers
BB
MS
NL
WD
KM
LJ
JV

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, women in jails and prisons, feminist theory

10:45am PST

Tending the World’s Soul: The Intersection of Depth Psychological and Feminist Approaches to Social Justice
Depth psychological theories, which honor the reality of the unconscious, often hold the reputation of an individualistic psychology, one in which the external realities of oppression may be overlooked in favor of one’s inner landscape (Altman, 2004; Layton, 2009; Watkins, 2000) This dialogue endeavors to challenge the binaried reputation and highlight the unique position a depth perspective holds; one of psyche in the world, where dreams and images co-mingle with the distinctive external realities of daily living particular to each person. Feminist psychological theories provide a framework for encountering privilege, marginalization, and the socially constructed differences that make up the world we share (Butler, 1990). By fostering a dialogue in which the tension between self and other is deconstructed we will enable a subsequent exploration of intersectionality as a point of convergence and elaboration for feminist depth practices. Through the exploration of historical to present day activism within depth psychological practices participants will discover ways in which social justice was an integral component of the early approaches to psychoanalysis and played a formative role in the shaping of psychological theories such as Freudian, Jungian, and Adlerian as well as contributed to contemporary theories within humanistic and feminist theoretical approaches (Layton, 2000; Watkins, 2000). Additionally, a critical exploration of the ways in which depth psychologists have turned away from the realities of injustice in favor of the sanctified consulting room will be addressed. This relevant critique will serve to foster intentionality and the valuing of differences by creating community that is meaningful and edifying for all beings. The dialogue will culminate in a collaborative envisioning of the ways in which depth psychologists can engage more deeply in tending to the healing of both the individual patient as well as this dynamic shared world. References Altman, N. (2004). History repeat itself in transference: Countertransference. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 14(6). Butler , J. (1990), Gender trouble, feminist theory, and psychoanalytic discourse. In: Feminism/Postmodernism, (Ed.). L. J. Nicholson. New York, London: Routledge, pp. 324-340. Layton, L. (2000). Identity, and sexuality: Discourses of fragmentation. In Rudnytsky, P.,Gordon, A. Psychoanalyses/Feminisms. New York, NY: State University of New York Press. Layton, L. (2009). Who’s responsible? Our mutual implication in each other’s suffering. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 19:105–120. doi:10.1080/10481880902779695. Watkins, M. (2000). Depth psychology and the liberation of being. In R. Brooke (Ed.), Pathways into the Jungian World: Phenomenology and Analytical Psychology. London: Routledge.
Speakers
OY
SB
TG

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, feminist theory, clinical practice issues-feminist, intersectionality, oppression and privilege

10:45am PST

When the Son Sets: Exploring Mothers’ Loss and Ways of Healing
The role of mothers is pivotal in the development of children (Ambert, 1994). The importance of the African American mother-son relationship is exemplified within many African American cultural by products. Seminal works such as Langston Hughes’ poem, “Mother to Son,” and Tupac’s song, “Keep Ya Head Up,” highlight the importance of the mother-son relationship within the African American community. Despite the embedded cultural significance of this relationship, psychological research frequently undermines and stereotypes the role of African American mothers in the development of their children (Bush, 2000). Thus, there is a paucity of research that explores the specific feelings of loss that women may feel when they lose their sons to community violence. Women may find themselves particularly distressed by community violence (Jenkins, 2002). They may suffer disproportionately as they lose sons not only to community violence but also to high rates of incarceration (Jenkins, 2002). The threat of community violence may drastically change the way in which Black women parent their children due to fear and worry they experience (Jenkins, 2002). Although women are often victimized by community violence they are not actively represented in the arena of restorative justice. The notable community leaders with the African American community are often men. This presentation will use feminist theory and concepts of restorative justice to understand the struggle that women go through in losing their sons to community violence. It will also reframe the significance of African American mothers in the lives of their sons. Through feminist perspectives, we will discuss interventions that can be geared at restoring mothers after loss, and empowering these women to themselves become activists. Through the utilization of current victims, we will provide examples to how these interventions may be implemented within our individual communities.
Speakers
SA
BD

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, motherhood-parenting, clinical practice issues-feminist

10:45am PST

Women and Therapy: Pioneers
For over 100 years, from Freud’s couch to the 1960’s, gender related inequality was the norm both inside and outside the therapists’ office. Though disparities are present in various forms today, we owe a debt to the feminist therapy pioneers of the 1970’s who through radical action, moved the mental health establishment, from within and without, to consider women as fully human. As we move into the current manifestation of feminism and work for justice, it seems imperative to pause to consider how these “second wave” pioneers gave us the beginnings of feminist therapy. These women, starting from the earliest stages of the movement, gave us consciousness raising, the notion of the egalitarian therapy, female empowerment, the groundswell of women into clinical psychology programs, and many other positive changes. They impacted systems such as criminal justice, divorce, domestic violence, education, medicine and banking to name but a few. We are honored to have Dr. Oliva Espin, Professor Emerita of San Diego State University and the California School of Professional Psychology, and one of our foremost pioneers, to join us in this discussion. It is to honor and record the achievements of these innovators that we are creating a special edition of Women and Therapy: Pioneers. We are looking to have a conversation about and with women who were practicing feminist therapy in the early 1970’s. We are hoping to have some of the pioneers, in addition to Dr. Espin, attend, as well as those who worked with or were influenced by their writings, teaching or supervision. We are hoping to take this conversation forward to develop criteria for defining a pioneer, and forming a list. We will also be recruiting interviewers/writers, preferably early-career, who would be interested in writing an article with or about a pioneer.
Speakers
OE
CP

Saturday March 7, 2015 10:45am - 12:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, feminist theory, aging-older women , education-training, feminist ethics, Hispanic, Latina, Chicana women, therapy-abuses of therapy

1:05pm PST

Beyond Ferguson, MO: Giving voice to Black female victims of murder and other atrocities
Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Trayvon Martin, and Jordan Davis are all Black men who were murdered unjustly either by the police or by a racially motivated white male. There names have made national headlines, and many Black communities and individuals have mobilized to call for justice in their honor, and in the honor and protection of all Black boys and men. The many protest and communal actions that have ensued are evidence of great acts of resistance and social justice mobilizing that proudly state “Black lives matter!”, however, when Black women—especially Black trans women—are slaughtered daily and by the dozens, these same acts of communal mobilizing and vigils of honor are non-existent. President Obama and many other political officials and scholars have righteously given support and condolences in the murders of the aforementioned slain men, yet, little to no consolation, acknowledgement, nor support have been given to Tarika Wilson, Aiyana Jones, Shantel Davis, Rekia Boyd, Islan Nettles, Chanelle Pickett, Nireah Johnson, Erica Keels, Dana A. Larkin, Duana Johnson, Brandy Martell, and Yazmin Sanchez, all Black females—both cis and transgender—who have been unjustly murdered and forgotten. This structured discussion is guided by a Black feminist framework (Collins, 1991) and also by W.E.B. DuBois’ double consciousness (1903). As Black feminist thought seeks to move the stories and experiences of Black women from margin to center, and Black women are simultaneously doubly conscious of the plights of Black men. Thus, our goal is not to create a hierarchy of oppression, but instead, to restore justice and equality to Black women. Moreover, the aim of this talk is to begin to think about how we as feminist psychologist can assist in restoration of justice and voice to Black women.
Speakers
EL

Eve Lorane Brown

University of California
HJ

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, African-American women, gender differences-gender role, identity values, intersectionality, minority stress , oppression and privilege, restorative justice, transgender issues-gender queer-gender spectrum

1:05pm PST

Bringing Awareness to Abuse Within the Disability Community
This interactive lecture format presentation will provide education concerning the growing social problem of abuse within the disability community to persons with disabilities, health care providers, educators and advocates. Research shows a 26% to 90% range for adults with disabilities who have experienced some form of abuse in their lifetime (Hughes et al., 2011). Children with a disability are 1.68 times more likely to have experienced abuse or neglect than children without a disability (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Although it may be assumed that health care providers would be the first line of defense in this epidemic, it has been found that only 15% of women with disabilities report being asked by a healthcare provider whether abuse was a concern and/or if they wanted education on how they could be safer (Curry et al., 2011). When healthcare providers are not the primary advocates for abuse victims it may fall to persons with disabilities, and other allies, to begin to make changes within the system to help decrease the number of people who experience abuse. Isolation and attitudinal barriers increase vulnerability for abuse. To eliminate these unacceptably high incidence rates we must first have an understanding of the types of abuse which occur, the barriers to reporting abuse and the unique factors which cause increased vulnerability to abuse within the disability community. When people with disabilities attempt to seek assistance, services are often inaccessible to those with varying disabilities, leaving these individuals to stay in abusive situations (Beck-Massey, 1999). Through education people can begin to work together to eliminate barriers to reporting and increase the likelihood that abuse is eradicated. The presentation will end with an open conversation concerning ways in which we can all work together to decrease the frequency of abuse within the disability community.
Speakers
LC
JW
JW

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, women and disabilities, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, spouse-partner abuse

1:05pm PST

Gender and Sexuality Diversity at AWP
The Bisexuality and Sexual Diversity Caucus will host a discussion on gender and sexuality diversity at AWP, paying particular attention to the visibility of trans* and gender nonconforming people and reviewing our history of welcoming people of all sexualities. Trans* and gender nonconforming people have been a part of feminism and AWP throughout its history, whether or not this has been discussed openly. We will open a dialogue about the needs of trans* and gendernonconforming feminists at AWP, and the continued needs for programming and visibility for people of all sexual orientations, particular bisexual, queer, and gay and lesbian people.
Speakers
AR
LR
KS

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, sexual diversity, transgender issues-gender queer-gender spectrum

1:05pm PST

In Search of Justice: Exploring Restorative Justice, Survivor-Centric, and Culturally Informed Responses to Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence
Restorative justice approaches to sexual assault and intimate partner violence move us away from a primarily punitive criminal justice model toward a more holistic focus on survivors, the community, and society. This structured discussion seeks to engage participants in conversations about the many ways that a restorative justice model could be applied to sexual assault and intimate partner violence in the US and abroad. Four guiding questions will be used to promote discussion: 1) What does restorative justice mean in the context of sexual assault and intimate partner violence?; 2) How do restorative justice approaches align with survivor-centric, trauma-informed models of intervention?; 3) What are the implications of a restorative justice approach for prevention efforts?; and 4) How can we ensure that prevention and intervention efforts are culturally informed and appropriate? Three speakers will lead the discussion by sharing lessons learned from their own work in the field. The first speaker will describe culturally responsive approaches to therapy and intervention for survivors of sexual assault and sex trafficking. The second speaker will consider the benefits of a public health perspective for framing prevention and intervention efforts for sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The third speaker will offer insights into community-based intervention, prevention, and research models to address sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Throughout the discussion, participants will be encouraged to address the root causes of violence; consider survivor-centric, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate models of prevention and intervention; and discuss the myriad ways that we, as feminists, can be involved in restoring justice for those affected by sexual assault and intimate partner violence both at home and abroad.
Speakers
CA

Courtney Ahrens

CSU Long Beach
DH
TB

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, restorative justice, African-American women, Asian women, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, clinical practice issues-feminist, community services, Hispanic, Latina, Chicana women, spouse-partner abuse

1:05pm PST

Re-Imagining Multimedia Project: Transformative and Restorative Justice as Alternative Responses to Gender Violence
What is wrong with the current response to gender violence? How should that response be different? To answer these questions, the Re-Imagining multimediaproject will be launched as part of Media for Change’s (MfC, mediaforchange.org) series, Changing the Conversation. MfC is a new non-profit and open-access online resource founded by documentary filmmaker Sanjeev Chatterjee to recognize and support the work of activists in using media for social change. Toward this end, Re-Imagining emerged from interviews on and around the 2014 conference CONVERGE: Re-imagining the Movement to End Gender Violence (http://www.law.miami.edu/academics/converge/index.php?op=0), where Arrested Justice author Beth Richie raised the same questions in her keynote address. Re-Imagining introduces the public to the ways in which the dominant response to domestic violence and sexual assault are criminal law centered, the dominant responses have failed to address structural inequalities, and the system intersectionality of the criminal justice system, welfare system, and child welfare system has had a negative impact (Dorothy Roberts, 2012) on women of color. In the multimedia content, leading scholars and activists Dorothy Roberts, Mimi Kim, Leigh Goodmark, Beth Richie, Joan Pennell, Donna Coker, and others speak to these problems and suggest alternative community responses, including Transformative Justice and Restorative Justice. The next iteration of Re-Imagining will likely include on-site videos with organizations involved in alternative responses to gender violence, including Transformative and Restorative Justice. The site will ultimately link to many other websites recognizing interlocking oppressions and working to diminish the carceral state. At the AWP Conference, we hope to dialogue with feminist psychologists about our evolving tool for sparking critical conversations and actions. Our goal is a general shift from dominant, crime-centered, gender violence responses, towards strengthening community-based strategies and alternatives.
Speakers
AB

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, advocacy, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, intersectionality, oppression and privilege, power

1:05pm PST

Restorative Justice for Sexual Assault on College Campuses: When Universities Don’t Do Enough
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN, 2009) reports that a sexual assault occurs every 2 minutes in the United States. Many of these assaults occur on college campuses. One study found that between 20-25% of women will experience an attempted or completed sexual assault by the time she graduates; 90% of the time she will know the offender (Fisher, Cullen & Turner, 2000). Additionally, in a study of nearly 1600 colleges with a population greater than 1000 students, 55% of students had at least one reported sexual assault, and the total number of 3900 reports in 2012 reflects a 50 percent increase from 2009 (Anderson, 2014). Because a large number of sexual assaults are unreported, this jump in reports may not necessarily indicate an increase in sexual assault, but rather a willingness on the part of survivors to trust the universities’ administration to support them after reporting. By Title IX standards, universities are legally required to respond to sexual assault reports. Unfortunately, in many instances, the university’s handling of these cases is problematic. For example, some schools expel students found guilty of cheating, but dispense far less severe punishments for students found guilty of sexual assault. Survivors of sexual assault who seek justice through appropriate university channels are disappointed and angry when their institutions fail to effectively address the issue. When this occurs, some survivors find other ways to restore justice, such as participation in Take Back The Night protests or becoming a survivor’s advocate. Finding ways to empower themselves after an assault may not help survivors find the retribution they seek, but it can promote positive healing. In this structured discussion, participants are encouraged to discuss universities’ institutional barriers in reporting sexual assault and brainstorm ways we can help survivors seek a personal sense of restorative justice. References Anderson, N. (2014, July 1). Sex offense statistics show U.S. college reports are rising. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/sex-offense-statistics-show-us-college-reports-are-rising/2014/07/01/982ecf32-0137-11e4-b8ff-89afd3fad6bd_story.html Fisher, B.S., Cullen, F.T., & Turner, M.G. (2000). The Sexual Victimization of College Women. National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (2009). Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/statistics
Speakers
KK
KM

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, advocacy

1:05pm PST

The Clery Act and Confidentiality: What is Best for Sexual Assault Victims?
The Clery Act requires college campuses and universities to report information about crime on and near their campuses. This structured discussion will explore how recent revisions to the Clery Act may adversely impact victims of sexual violence. Recent revisions to the Clery Act require most university employees to report all details of a sexual violence incident, including the identities of both the perpetrator and the victim, regardless of whether the victim requests that his or her identity remain confidential. The structured discussion will be led by a faculty member and will include the perspectives of student-services employees and current students. For example, a Peer Educator at the Violence Prevention and Women’s Resource Center (a student center that provides services for students who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking) will describe training he received in which he was instructed how to discourage students from disclosing experiences of sexual assault victimization. A current student will describe how a student that has experienced sexual assault can no longer turn to a faculty member without being told that an investigation will take place the moment they disclose any information regarding the incident. She will describe her perspective that this policy may create a hostile setting for students, leaving them feeling abandoned and isolated.
Speakers
ED
AC
IP
CM

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, child abuse-incest-rape-sexual abuse, education-training

1:05pm PST

When Beauty Becomes the Beast: Myths, Realities and Implications of Perceived Physical Attractiveness
As evolutionary psychologist have discerned, physical beauty has always been shown preference throughout history and across cultures. Nonetheless, that which defines beauty has adapted itself to ever-changing contexts and times. In the 21st century, beauty ideals and standards are being continually reshaped, altered and spread by innovations in technology. Photoshop-contrived images of beauty, youth and thinness are created by the Western European and American fashion industries and variously disseminated not only by beauty and fashion magazines but also by internet websites which connect the fashion capitals of the world to every corner of the globe. Since the advent of research conducted on the impact of mass media and the marketing on the standards and ideals of beauty, thinness, youthfulness and physical attractiveness as well as its correlates from body dissatisfaction to body dysmorphia, the gamut of cosmetic interventions continue to rise. Thus despite the collective efforts of psychological, psychiatry and medical organizations to shape and disseminate policies and educative interventions to support prevention and stem this deleterious trend has been limited. Consequently, it appears that the enticements of physical self-improvement, the retaining of one’s youth in perpetuity and expectations of heightened self-esteem and greater happiness appear to be insurmountable.
Speakers
MH
AJ
NL

NgaPing Lam

Brooklyn College
DR

Diagou Regina Sissoko

Hunter College
JW

Janice Walters

Borough of Manhattan CC

Saturday March 7, 2015 1:05pm - 2:05pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, adolescent issues, aging-older women, development-socialization-gender identity, power

2:25pm PST

Girls of Color and Vulnerability in Sex Ed Classrooms: A Discussion
The idea for this discussion comes out of an experience we have had in the sex ed classroom with girls of color. We would like this discussion to focus on the negotiations, difficulties, and vulnerabilities present in the sex ed classroom when girls of color are asked to talk about sex and around difficult topics such as consent and coercion. Some of the contradictions that we would like to discuss is the pull for girls to see themselves as strong, proud, and in control of their own decisions, a position supported by growing autonomy in adolescence, and thus deny weakness and vulnerability. Also, this position may need to be reinforced by girls when they pick up on messages from the culture about being at risk (for pregnancy) and/or hyper-sexual (a stereotype). In teaching the sex ed class, we were struck with how difficult it was for the girls to discuss sexual risks and dangers relating to consent and coercion. We observed that this vulnerability (that all girls share) may need to be denied by two other kinds of talk: 1) that boys are equally in danger; and 2) that girls of color need to be “respectable”, in their own words, so if they act in a way that shows they don’t respect themselves, they get what is coming to them. We understand vulnerability to be multiply determined and to be experienced consciously as well as unconsciously. We also understand the students to be constructing who they are and what they feel through multiple identity positions within the specific context of their school, country, ethnicity, race, and gender. Isom’s (2012) qualitative work with youth of color showed femaleness constructed as “strong, multitudinous and varied, yet sexualized by a male gaze and silent in the face of it”.
Speakers
SL
RR
TR

Tangela Roberts

University of Massachusetts Boston

Saturday March 7, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, adolescent issues, African-American women

2:25pm PST

Inclusive, Incomplete, or In-between: Exploring the feminist perspective in graduate diversity courses
APA accredited graduate programs for clinical, counseling and school psychology have a required diversity training component with objectives that include students attaining: “substantial understanding and competence.” Yet these programs seek to achieve these objectives in a variety of ways. A recent meta-analysis concluded that diversity trainings are positively related to cognitive development. However, Bowman found that these cognitive benefits associated with diversity coursework are limited to white and low-income students. How inclusive is this curriculum as it relates to the cultural intersections within the “female graduate student?” We propose to facilitate a structured discussion from a feminist perspective that explores the relationship of the intersections of identity within female graduate students and its corollary influence on the improvement of diversity training effectiveness. Our overarching goal will be to approach this discussion with the aim of encouraging participants to consider their personal training experiences and the feminist perspective in order to inform suggestions. First, participants will have the opportunity to explore their own identity intersections. Then, attendees will be asked to consider and share their personal experiences of their academic diversity training. This will include an exploration of the aspects of diversity training that intersect with, contradict or avoid the female perspective. Simultaneously, we will consider how the female experience and feminist values could be incorporated and emphasized to achieve the heightened awareness and proficiency the APA envisions. Finally, we will scrutinize how diversity programs could be improved. Potential questions include: Where is diversity training effective, and for whom? How can diversity training go beyond raising awareness to increasing actual competency in practice? What does research indicate is most effective for increasing competence? What elements of female cultural considerations should be incorporated into diversity training? How can greater inclusion of the female perspective increase course efficacy?
Speakers
CM
DC
MC
JR

Saturday March 7, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, gender differences-gender role

2:25pm PST

Revenge Porn: Another Attempt to Control Women
Revenge porn is when individuals post sexually explicit photos and videos of their exes online to websites, such as “MyEx,” whose tagline is “Get Revenge.” Revenge porn has gained attention in light of the recent leak of nude photos of celebrity women. However, celebrities are in a very different position than typical victims of revenge porn, as celebrities not only have better financial resources to take legal action but may gain a new level of fame. The popularity of celebrity nudes being “leaked” may influence the growing trend of revenge porn, as individuals may believe that it is more socially acceptable to share sexually explicit material of their ex. Sexting can progress into revenge porn. Sext messages are sexually suggestive messages sent through cellular phones or over the internet, and include semi-nude or nude photos and videos of an individual (Winkleman, 2014). When individuals within intimate relationships share sexually explicit content with each other, when the relationship ends, if one individual feels like seeking revenge s/he may in turn use the sexually explicit material to post as revenge porn. Many victims of revenge porn do not know that their private photos and/or videos have been uploaded unless notified by an outside party. On many revenge porn sites people are often directed to the victim’s social media pages, home address, phone number, and even their family and friends’ social media profiles. Often the perpetrator encourages others to share and post links everywhere on the web in an attempt to get the pictures of the person to be viewed when someone performs a Google search of the victim’s name. The purpose of this discussion is to address the impact this trend could have on the psychology of women and how feminist psychologists and activists can support victims and press for legal sanctions against posters.
Speakers
AB

Angela Barney

Connecticut College
JC

Saturday March 7, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, power, sexual harassment

2:25pm PST

Structured Discussion: The different needs of women and girls in the justice system: How can we address gender differences in the needs for protection within the institution for female inmates.
The incarceration of women and girls has shifted in our society. According to the CDCR (2014), Female incarceration rates have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. Working in the county jail and juvenile hall systems within California for the past few months has exposed me to the different needs that men and women demonstrate while incarcerated. For many women, being locked up provides safety and protection from the sexual and physical violence they have experienced throughout their lives (Bradley & Davino, 2002). The safety that is felt by some women while incarcerated is very different than the expressed experience for men regarding safety. This is not to minimize the trauma and violence experienced by men in these settings, however through my early experience in incarceration, I have noticed different needs and ways of being protected and provided safety for women and girls compared to men and boys. The culture of a female correctional unit feels very different than that of a male correctional unit, which represents nothing novel or groundbreaking. Carol Gilligan’s (1982) characterization of male and female differences is very evident in the environment of incarceration. The male standard of treatment found within the walls of juvenile halls, jails and prisons, serve to disregard the gender-specific needs for women if the aim is for rehabilitation. Even the ways in which genders are tried in court is conflicted: “A distinction was drawn between male’s emphasis on autonomy and an ethics of right and justice in resolving a case and women’s subscribing to an ethics of care with an emphasis on the social impact of a decision.” (Von Wormer, 2010). Furthermore, restorative justice from the perspective of Barton (2001) recognizes multiple ways of enacting justice for the offender and the victim, however the victimization of women in the male-dominant correctional environments hinders that corrective process.
Speakers
GK
AC

Saturday March 7, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, women in jails and prisons, advocacy, gender differences-gender role, restorative justice

2:25pm PST

Talking Feminism: Fear of The “F” Word
The proposed discussion will address the evolving state of Feminist Psychology. The discussion will specifically look at the audiences in which feminism is reaching, the fear of feminism/feminist label, and a discussion on ways to utilize feminist theory/identity in a less threatening way. Facilitators will draw on relevant research and personal experiences as self-identifying feminists to guide participants in discussion. Feminism originated out of political and social movements starting in the early 20th century. During the 1970’s feminism was brought into the world of academia, when the first Women Studies department was found at San Diego State College (Charleswell, 2014). Thus, academic feminism is rooted in the women’s liberation movement. Yet, when we discuss feminism today, academic feminism is often considered the only type of feminism. Feminism tends to be discussed solely in academic spheres and within pro-feminists groups. In addition, feminism has often ignored the lived experiences of lesbian, bisexual, queer, trans*, and women of color (Elliot, 2010; Mertz, 2002). The creation of Queer Feminism and Womanism attempted to address these issues, yet today these theories remain a separate entity of feminism. The word itself, “Feminism,” continues to be highly stigmatized within our society. In recent studies it was found that many women agree with what feminist theory stands for but will not self-identify as feminist (Duncan, 2010). Lisa Marie Hogeland states, “We do young women no service if we suggest to them that feminism itself is safe. It is not. It is not easy to question and stand opposed to your culture, to be critical of institutions, behaviors, and discourses” (Hogeland, 1994, p. 725). Thus, the proposed discussion will highlight the following questions. How can we move feminist conversations outside “insider” groups and to the general public? How can we as professionals centralize race and racism in our approach to the liberation of women, queer, and trans people? How do we spread awareness and education that moves past common stereotypes about feminism, a way that does not falsely label feminism as “safe” but in a way that is more welcoming?
Speakers
AB

Aaron Breslow

Teachers College
JE
EG
RS

Saturday March 7, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, feminist activism - backlash, feminist theory

2:25pm PST

Women in Conflict: Exploring the divide between cis-gendered and transgender women
The New Yorker (August, 2014) recently published a scathing article in which many second wave and radical feminist were virulently attacking trans women and stating they were not women. While the article made some erroneous assertions, and misquoted a few of the radical feminist such as Michelle Wallace, many radical feminist and non-feminist transphobic women do feel that trans women are not women. However, many transsexual women, particularly African American transsexual women, indicate that their experiences are more closely related to their cis-gender counterparts than to their gender queer and gender variant transgender cohorts (Brown, 2015), which begs the questions what defines being a woman and are radical feminists really attempting to protect womanhood or are they creating more oppression and hatred by suggesting that only those women who were assigned female at birth are women? This structured discussion is guided by an intersectionality framework (Combahee River Collective, 1982; Crenshaw, 1993) and loosely investigates gender schema theory (Bem, 1981). Bem’s pioneering work on gender schema and sex typing helped to pave the way for how we investigate gender in psychology today, and how we have come to understand how individuals make meaning of their gender identity; however, Bem admits herself that her work was limited in it scope, thus, in combining an intersectionality framework with a Bem's social psychological theorizing on gender, we are hoping to expand on the notions of gender identity and what defines a woman.
Speakers
EL

Eve Lorane Brown

University of California
HJ

Saturday March 7, 2015 2:25pm - 3:25pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, transgender issues-gender queer-gender spectrum, identity values, intersectionality, minority stress , oppression and privilege, restorative justice

3:45pm PST

Adjustment for students with disabilities to graduate programs: A dialogue on surmounting procedural difficulties, promoting self-advocacy, and navigating new campus networks.
The challenges faced graduate students with disabilities in acculturating and succeeding in pursuit of advanced degrees has received little scholarly attention. However, the path to degree completion can be stalled or stymied for these graduate students due to a number of institutional hurdles. These may include alternative test administration that may increase exam time to unsustainable levels. Also, graduate students with disabilities may have different challenges in disclosing their disability to faculty members or undergraduate students with which they work. Moreover, support services available to graduate students may be more or less accessible than what was previously offered in their undergraduate institutions. Presenters both work in a disability services office at a public university. They will lead a structured discussion on experiences of group members with applying and matriculating to graduate programs for students with disabilities. Also, the discussion will focus on strategies to strengthen self-advocacy and identity development. Lastly, presenters will focus on methods to improve well-being and practice self-care for these students.
Speakers
DS
EM
AS

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, women and disabilities

3:45pm PST

Cultivating Empowerment as a Predoctoral Intern
A significant portion of time during predoctoral internship is dedicated to clinical work and ensuring that we are providing adequate services to empower clients to facilitate and enable positive change in their lives. One aspect often not given sufficient attention is how counselors-in-training can cultivate their own personal empowerment to advocate for their own training needs. How can one apply a feminist approach to one’s training within a hierarchical structure? More specifically, how can one advocate for oneself in a way that respectfully adheres to one’s work policies? According to Page and Czuba (1999), empowerment is a multidimensional process that facilitates one to obtain a sense of control over their lives. It is obtained by having the autonomy to act on issues that are defined and perceived as important. Research has suggested work environments that facilitate employee empowerment tend to have a higher employee performance and satisfaction, as well as a decrease in dysfunctional collegial relationships (Vecchio, Justin, & Pearce, 2010). Given that predoctoral interns tend to be at the ‘bottom of the totem pole’ in terms of power within the work environment due to their trainee status, is it possible to navigate power differentials and cultivate a voice that fits the needs of the trainee as well as compliments the needs of the work environment? The analysis of this topic seeks to explore how feminist aspects of empowerment such as creativity, authenticity, and advocacy can be cultivated as a trainee. This discussion will explore obstacles to feeling empowered in a training program, as well as seek solutions toward advocating for oneself on both an individual level as well as within the changing system of University Counseling Centers. Social justice considerations will also be explored and examined. References Page, N., & Czuba, C. E. (1999). Empowerment: What is it. Journal of extension, 37(5), 1-5. Vecchio, R. P., Justin, J. E., & Pearce, C. L. (2010). Empowering leadership: An examination of mediating mechanisms within a hierarchical structure. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), 530-542.
Speakers
SU
LL
KM
RZ

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, power, achievement, advocacy, creativity, leadership

3:45pm PST

Finding Balance: Navigating the Tensions Between Feminist Values and Well-Being
As feminist psychologists, we value generativity, mentoring the next generation, and working together for social change. These values can lead us to take on a multitude of responsibilities, resulting in overwork, stress, and an unbalanced life. Feminists from marginalized groups (e.g., sexual minorities, underrepresented ethnic/racial minorities) can be especially vulnerable to overwork, as they receive many requests to serve and may feel a special sense of responsibility to ensure that multiple perspectives are represented. Overwork and imbalance are unsustainable, yet simply saying "no" to service requests is not necessarily the best option, especially if the underlying goals are ones we share. How can we navigate the tension between our feminist values and the inability to do it all? This session will provide a venue for participants to share experiences and strategies. The facilitators are mid-career academics and will briefly speak to these issues from their own positionality. However, we anticipate that the tension between feminist values and limited bandwidth is relevant to professors at all levels, to students and postdocs, and to therapists and others whose careers are outside of academia. The structure will depend on the number of attendees and may include: discussions in pairs or trios, brief individual sharing, large group discussion, or brainstorming about a particular specific dilemma. If the group is small, we will allow time for each individual to present a specific situation where they felt a tension between their feminist goals and values and their ability to have a balanced life. If the group is larger, we will first generate specific questions via large group discussion, and then break into smaller groups to discuss one or more of those questions. In all cases, we'll come back to the large group at the end, and provide a summary of insights and strategies.
Speakers
EZ
AZ

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, vocational-work issues, advocacy, feminist ethics, leadership

3:45pm PST

Making Place For Women Of Color in the Academe
As psychology continues in its journey of multicultural awareness and inclusion, academic programs strive to make their faculty more diverse, particularly recruiting women of color psychologists. However, some women of color academics might argue that the academe is still an unwelcoming environment and that fosters “ambiguous empowerment” (Turner, 2002). Women of color often experience being treated as a “token” and feel pressured to assimilate while also serving as sole ambassadors for their culture and cultures of other minority individuals (Kanter, 1977). These can lead to increased levels of stress and job dissatisfaction for women of color as they try to navigate authenticity between their person and professional selves (Hume, 1998). The purpose of this roundtable is to provide an opportunity for women of color to share their experiences in professional psychology (both practice and academic) and provide safe space for psychologists to brainstorm how to make counseling psychology a more inclusive environment for women of color. In particular, the discussion will be centered around experiences of multiple marginality, making academic and professional programs more aware of the unique challenges that women of color face and to help make campuses more inclusive for this unique population.
Speakers
RS

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, vocational-work issues, achievement, crosscultural issues, feminist activism - backlash, leadership, minority stress , oppression and privilege

3:45pm PST

Navigating the Personal in the Political Realm: Women of Color in Higher Education Positions
Given the growing number of women of color in clinical, teaching, administration and leadership positions in higher education, it is imperative to explore how women of color may be perceived and treated in these roles. We plan to facilitate a discussion that addresses (a) the navigation of maintaining and asserting one’s multifaceted identity in the workplace in the midst of assumed identities and stereotypes based on physical appearance, (b) the intersection between cultural identities and (c) workplace dynamics and positions of power. This structured discussion targets the growing number of women of color in institutions of higher education. The increase in women of color in these positions has presented university environments with novel multicultural challenges and opportunities. The conversation will provide a forum for participants to discuss multicultural and social justice issues experienced across different settings and contexts in higher education as well as opportunity to learn and share strategies to address challenging and distressing experiences. The facilitators will have pre-designed questions and 1-2 vignettes to stimulate a critical dialogue. We will provide insights from our experiences as women of color with other intersecting identities, and encourage participants to self-reflect and share their experiences, as well. We hope that this structured discussion will be conducive to greater understanding, awareness and personal reflection.
Speakers
AG
YH
CM

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, vocational-work issues, crosscultural issues, development-socialization-gender identity, ecological feminism, gender differences-gender role, identity values, intersectionality, power, women and management

3:45pm PST

Prejudice and Discrimination in Graduate School: A Discussion
My dissertation topic is rooted in my own experiences as a feminist, bisexual White woman in a graduate program. As I reviewed the literature, I began with women, trying to find research that suggested that women still were experiencing sexism while in their graduate programs. This proved somewhat difficult and I was surprised to find that there was not as much recent evidence as I had anticipated. I began to explore other “differences”, including race, ethnicity, international students, age, class, and motherhood. While I found some evidence of prejudice and discrimination within some studies (for example, Beoku-Betts, 2004; González, 2007), it was generally buried in the research, hidden in the measures the researchers gave, and not discussed at length in the articles. I found this interesting because my experiences and so many stories from other graduate students did not support these minor mentions and brief discussions of discrimination in academia. When I turned to look for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered students’ experiences in graduate school, I found two older dissertations that discussed gay and lesbians students’ experiences. I found this distressing. I wanted to know women graduate students’ stories and I believe there is a need within the literature to directly address and share narratives about graduate students’ experiences with prejudice and discrimination. I would like to gather graduate students for a discussion about the prejudice and discrimination that they experienced in graduate school. Having this discussion allows us to support each other and network.
Speakers
DB

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, oppression and privilege, intersectionality, sex bias-sexism-discrimination-sexist language

3:45pm PST

Restoring Justice for LGBT Communities through Professional Education and Training
Restoring Justice for LGBT Communities through Professional Education and Training As mental health professionals we recognize the importance of restorative justice as documented by Campbell (2008). When applied to LGBT individuals, restorative justice may require a community rebuilding process (Gumz, 2004) and the development of competencies to treat LGBT individuals who have been victimized by criminal behavior or incompetence of mental health professionals. Rectifying the latter requires us to begin more thorough training in LGBT professional competence. This clearly begins with our education and training programs. One research study found psychologists received little training in areas of sexual orientation and gender identity and limited opportunities to work with these populations during training (Johnson & Federman, 2014). Our presentation will focus on the qualitative data collected from the first graduates of a LGBT Human Services and Mental Health certificate program. The certificate program provides 15 different courses designed to aid clinicians in developing competencies to work with LGBT individuals, couples, and families. Graduates will be interviewed about their satisfaction with the certificate, sense of preparedness in working with the LGBT clients, and experiences restoring clients who have been victims of microaggressions, criminal behavior, and incompetence on the part of untrained mental health professionals. We will present these findings in a conversational style, followed by group discussion of these planned questions: 1. What is essential for mental health professionals to become more competently trained with LGBT clients? 2. How do you guard against microaggressions in your own work? 3. How can mental health professionals become more involved in the restorative justice movement through education and advocacy? 4. How do you provide support to LGBT students in hetero-normative environments within educational institutions? We plan to discuss how the experiential-based component of the student feedback and conference participants’ discussion will lead to changes that need to be made to the certificate program.
Speakers
SK
AG
SG

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, education-training, identity values, intersectionality, lesbian issues-heterosexism, queer theory, therapy-abuses of therapy, transgender issues-gender queer-gender spectrum

3:45pm PST

The caged bird sings: Exploring the experiences of Black female psychologists in the academy
“Graduate school in psychology was worst than rape! Because at least when I was raped, there were services and support groups. I had to endure the pain of being Black and female in graduate school alone…”—Dr. Aaronette White Before her passing, Dr. White was an associate professor of social psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is perhaps better known for her work on rape and feminism, and the above quote was something that she maintained fiercely about some of her experiences in academia as a Black female psychologist. In using Dr. White’s quote as a springboard to undertake this discussion, we realize that there is much that we do not know about the often painful experiences of Black female psychologists in the academy. The discipline of psychology is still largely seen as predominantly White and male with rigid constructs and frameworks that often exclude African Americans in general, but particularly, Black female researchers. This becomes a social justice issue because Black women are being eliminated and excluded in psychology. However, we as feminist psychologists can assist in improving conditions for Black women in psychology by giving voice to these problems and working to end racism and sexism in psychology as a discipline. This project evolved out a Black feminist framework (Collins, 1991) and employs the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality (Combahee River Collective, 1982; Crenshaw, 1993), and critical psychology (Parker, 1999). This structured discussion aims to explore the experiences of Black women—and all women of color in the academy—from doctoral candidacy through professor emeritus.
Speakers
EL

Eve Lorane Brown

University of California
HJ

Saturday March 7, 2015 3:45pm - 5:00pm PST
Gold Rush A
  Structured Discussion, African-American women, intersectionality, minority stress , oppression and privilege, restorative justice
 
Sunday, March 8
 

8:30am PDT

A Lot of Hard Work, But Doable: Pregnancy Expectations and Experiences of Women with Type I Diabetes
Past research has focused on the importance of stringent medical diabetes management for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes to achieve a pregnancy with minimal complications. Unfortunately, there is little research on these type 1 diabetic women’s actual lived experiences with pregnancy. Additionally, there is virtually no existing research on the expectations that type 1 diabetic women have towards a future pregnancy experience. This study was designed to gain insight into expectations that nulliparal diabetic women have regarding pregnancy, to understand the lived pregnancy experiences of women with type 1 diabetes, and to examine the expectations versus the lived experiences. Ten nulliparal women with type 1 diabetes and 10 women with type 1 diabetes who were currently or/had previously given birth were recruited. All women were interviewed over Skype. All audio recordings from the interviews were transcribed and then coded for themes. The results indicated that women who were currently pregnant and/or had previously been pregnant reported significantly more positive themes regarding diabetes and pregnancy than did the women who had never been pregnant. This research suggests that it is essential that dialogues regarding pregnancy be initiated by physicians even prior to a voiced desire to become pregnant, in order to accurately educate their patients, and ease any unnecessary anxiety in this population of women. Additionally, this study exposed that early diabetes education, pregnancy planning, and support are important, yet often overlooked, factors that increase the likelihood for physically and emotionally successful pregnancy experiences for this population of women. **I cannot present on Sunday as Dr. Joan Chrisler, the second author, cannot attend on Sunday. Thank you in advanced!**
Speakers
JC
MM

Sunday March 8, 2015 8:30am - 9:45am PDT
Gold Rush A
  Paper, Motherhood and Health

8:30am PDT

Ending Family Homelessness: Formerly Unhoused Mothers’ Policy Recommendations
Homelessness among female-headed families in the United States is increasing. Up from 1 percent in the 1980s, families now comprise 38 percent of the unhoused population (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2013). Structural inequities – poverty, low wages, domestic violence, and lack of affordable housing and foreclosures – are root causes of homelessness among women with children (U.S. Housing and Urban Development, 2012). Yet, ameliorative institutional initiatives remain underfunded or absent. Compounding this policy gap is silence within political and media arenas; family homelessness, and specifically women’s narration of their own experiences, is underrepresented in mainstream analyses of social and economic marginalization. Unhoused women with children report feeling that policymakers and people in positions of authority do not understand homelessness and that policy initiative too often focus on changing individual women rather than economic conditions (Averitt, 2003; Cosgrove & Flynn, 2005; DeWard & Moe, 2010). What policies do unstably housed mothers’ perceive as effective in reducing family homelessness? As part of a larger study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 formerly homeless mothers to better understand their experiences of being unhoused and the economic and housing policies they believed would most help their own and other similarly situated families. All respondents had lived in residential family shelters with their children within the past two years. Our informants consistently described scant resources and overburdened systems despite being told that that supportive services were available. Respondents identified a core set of practices for retaining (e.g., rental assistance programs, more affordable housing units) and securing housing (e.g., help navigating rental markets, security deposit cash assistance). Our findings underscore the importance of including mothers’ voices in housing policy discussions.
Speakers
HR
HB

Sunday March 8, 2015 8:30am - 9:45am PDT
Gold Rush A
  Paper, Motherhood and Health

8:30am PDT

Young Pregnant and Fabulous? Teen Mom / 16 and Pregnant and Viewers Perceptions of Teen Pregnancy
Although teen pregnancy rates in the United States have been on the decline since 1991 (Ventura, Hamilton, Mathews, 2014), more than 750,000 teens find out that they are pregnant each year (Guttmacher Institute, 2010). Recently, research has focused on whether the media can be used as a means of reducing teen pregnancy (Moyer-Guse, 2008), and significant attention has been focused on MTV’s reality shows Teen Mom / 16 and Pregnant, which have become cultural phenomena among adolescents and adults. Studies assessing the impact of viewing Teen Mom/ 16 and Pregnant on viewer’s attitudes and behaviors surrounding teen pregnancy have found mixed results (Aubrey et al., 2014; Martins & Jensen, 2014; Suellentrop, Brown, & Oritz, 2010; Wright et al., 2013), with some research suggesting the shows promote teen pregnancy by making it seem as though teen moms have an enviable quality of life (Martin & Jensen, 2014) while other studies indicate the shows discourage teen pregnancy (Aubrey et al., 2014). The current study expands on this initial research by utilizing a mixed methodological design to assess college women’s (N=372) perceptions of whether or not Teen Mom / 16 and Pregnant encourages teen pregnancy. Preliminary results indicated that of participants who watched some or all episodes of Teen Mom / 16 and Pregnant, viewers who perceived the show as offensive were also more likely to believe the show encouraged teen pregnancy (r = .178, p = .016). Participants were asked a subsequent open-ended question to explain why the show does or does not accurately portray relationships. Content analyses are currently underway to examine these responses. Implications of findings for future research, as well as media literacy and teen pregnancy prevention efforts will be discussed. If our study is not accepted as a paper, we ask that it be considered for a poster.
Speakers
KE
KA
AM
KM

Sunday March 8, 2015 8:30am - 9:45am PDT
Gold Rush A
  Paper, Motherhood and Health

10:05am PDT

High School Youth's Reactions to Participating in Mixed Methodological Dating and Sexual Violence Research
Research shows that dating and sexual violence are prevalent problems that affects the lives of many adolescents, (e.g. Johnson et al., 2006 Haglund, Belknap, Garcia, 2012; Fredland, Ricardo, Campbell, Sharps, Kup, Yonas, 2008; Prospero, 2006; Reeves & Orpinas, 2012). Thus there is a need for research regarding dating and sexual violence prevention and intervention for adolescent populations. However, little research exists on adolescent reactions to participating in dating and sexual violence research. The research that does exist primarily examines survey reactions rather than reactions to participating in focus groups which are becoming more commonly used and could result in different reactions. The present study used a sample of high school youth (N=218) and a mixed methodology to examine high school students reactions to participating in focus groups and surveys that asked about dating and sexual violence style intimate partner violence research. Data analyses yielded that 1.5% (n= 3) of youth regretted participating in the study and 6% (n= 12) of students were upset by the study questions. Youth reported that reasons they upset were primarily related to personal experiences with dating and sexual violence and being disturbed by peers’ responses during the focus group. Despite a few youth being upset 49% (n=99) of youth reported feeling like they personally benefited from participating in the study for reasons such as learning ways to help friends in situations of dating and sexual violence and gaining an increased sense of community. Results offer implications for conducting future mixed methodological research on dating and sexual violence with youth.
Speakers
KE
EH
KR

Sunday March 8, 2015 10:05am - 11:20am PDT
Gold Rush A
  Paper, Policy and Practice Interventions for Interrupting Violence

10:05am PDT

Legislators’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Progressive Policy Endorsement Related to Domestic and Sexual Violence: A Mixed Methodological Study
Objective: There is a lack of research examining legislators’ attitudes towards and knowledge about domestic violence (DV) and sexual violence (SV) as well as their intended support of progressive DV and SV policies. The researchers used a mixed methodological design to examine this gap in the literature. Method: The sample included 76 legislators from New Hampshire who completed a survey with both close-ended and open-ended questions. Results: Legislators generally disagreed with DV and SV myths and expressed intended support for the majority of progressive DV and SV policies; however, the most legislators provided inaccurate local estimates of the prevalence of DV and SV. Associations among myths, knowledge, support for progressive policies, and demographic variables were mostly non-significant with the following exceptions: higher educational attainment was related to less DV myths; democrats endorsed more progressive policies and less DV myths than republicans; and accurate estimate of DV prevalence for women related to progressive policy endorsement. Content analysis of qualitative data identified the primary reasons for non-support of progressive DV and SV policies to be the belief the policies would do nothing to improve the issue and the belief that individual freedom should trump government mandates. Conclusion: Results suggest that educational and structural efforts are needed to increase local knowledge about DV and SV among legislators and address other barriers to supporting progressive DV and SV policies; research should rigorously evaluate the impact of such efforts.
Speakers
KE
SB

Sunday March 8, 2015 10:05am - 11:20am PDT
Gold Rush A
  Paper, Policy and Practice Interventions for Interrupting Violence

10:05am PDT

Posttrauma Appraisals and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a substantial public health problem in the United States: over 1.3 million women are physically assaulted by a romantic partner each year, and between 25 and 33% of women will be physically assaulted by a romantic partner in her lifetime. Women exposed to IPV are at risk for a wide range of physical and mental health consequences, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent research has highlighted the importance of a flexible and victim-centered approach to IPV victim advocacy and support, rather than a “one size fits all” response that may not meet the specific needs of each woman. Studies have utilized person-oriented methods such as latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify subgroups of individuals who share similar patterns of PTSD symptom endorsement, but further study is needed among women exposed to IPV. By identifying latent subgroups, LPA may provide an empirical basis for practitioners to design and implement PTSD intervention efforts that are tailored to specific symptom profiles. In a sample of women exposed to police-reported IPV (N = 229), we identified five latent classes of PTSD symptom profiles stratified by symptom severity. Multinomial logistic regression models examined associations between latent classes and contextual variables (socioeconomic status, financial dependence, social support, prior trauma exposure, and arrest incident severity) and trauma appraisals (alienation, fear, and self-blame). The strongest independent predictors of PTSD latent profile membership were IPV-related trauma appraisals. Alienation and fear appraisals were consistently associated with increased likelihood of belonging to more symptomatic classes. We found a quadratic relationship between increased self-blame appraisals and PTSD symptom profile. Arrest incident severity was also independently associated with PTSD latent profile membership. These findings suggest the need for careful consideration of differences among IPV-exposed women within the larger context of PTSD research and clinical intervention.
Speakers
AD
CH

Claire Hebenstreit

San Francisco VA Medical Center
KK
SM

Sunday March 8, 2015 10:05am - 11:20am PDT
Gold Rush A
  Paper, Policy and Practice Interventions for Interrupting Violence
 
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