This article addresses the challenges of translating the evidence for the effects of the relationship in psychotherapy to work with clients whose intersectional identities are strongly informed by being members of groups marginalized for their sexual or gender orientations. We discuss managing both differences and similarities in the experiences of those offering and those seeking… Read more »
Posts Categorized: article
Institutional Cowardice: A powerful, often invisible, manifestation of Institutional Betrayal
In this article I introduce a new construct, Institutional Cowardice, which expands on Jennifer Freyd’s constructs of Institutional Betrayal and Institutional Courage. In it, I discuss the ways in which cowardice, and the fear of being ostracized and marginalized within an organization that is engaging in Institutional Betrayal, enables the betrayal while allowing the coward… Read more »
Complex trauma: Missed and misdiagnosis in forensic evaluations
This article, co-authored with my former trainee and colleague Tyson Bailey, speaks to the common and problematic phenomenon of how persons with complex trauma are misdiagnosed by forensic evaluators who are not trauma-informed. The risks to the quality of forensic evaluation when complex trauma is not taken into account or identified correctly, and the costs… Read more »
Complex trauma and the question of reasonableness in sexual harassment cases
This article discusses the interactions between a history of childhood complex trauma and responses to various levels of sexual harassment. Because sexual harassment occurs on a continuum, its effects can vary depending on the target’s own history of prior sexual trauma or abuse of power. Forensic evaluators who lack a trauma-informed perspective are likely to… Read more »
Guideline orthodoxy and resulting limitations of the APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD in Adults: Introduction to the Special Issue
This article is the introduction of one of two special journal issues in which Christine Courtois and I have generated scholarly critiques of the APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD in Adults, writing from the perspective of having been members of the group that generated those guidelines. We explore how our attempts…
This article introduces one of two special issues of journals that critique the process and outcome of the APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD in Adults. We introduce the readers to several innovative modalities for the treatment of trauma that were either marginalized in the guidelines development process, or excluded because their… Read more »Trauma treatment: The need for on-going innovation
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy and related treatments for trauma: An innovative, integrative trauma treatment
Although EMDR has been utilized clinically for more than three decades, and now has a growing and large body of scientific scholarship demonstrating its effectiveness with survivors of a wide range of traumas, it is still wrongly treated as “controversial” by those who have remained ignorant of this strong evidence base for its use in… Read more »
Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Association for Women in Psychology: A life in feminist psychology. A long and interesting journey from Ft. Wayne to Newport
In 2019, I had the privilege of being the invited keynote speaker for the 50th anniversary conference of the professional organization that shaped my entire life’s work, the Association for Women in Psychology. This article expands on that speech, in which I highlight the ways in which the radical vision of feminist psychology has both… Read more »
Effect of evidence-based treatment relationships on treatment outcome for adults with trauma: A systematic review
Because there were few if any studies of the importance of the evidence-based treatment relationship variables on trauma therapy, our group set out to explore the existing literature. We found that as with other psychotherapy clients, trauma survivors in therapy find treatment more effective when those relationship variables are present. Where to find Buy from… Read more »
Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Association for Women in Psychology: A life in feminist psychology: A long and interesting journey from Ft. Wayne to Newport
This article grew out of the keynote address that I gave at the 50th anniversary conference of the Association for Women in Psychology, the leading feminist psychology organization in the world. In it I review my own personal history with AWP, and then discuss some of the innovations that feminists brought to psychology that have… Read more »
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy and related treatments for trauma: An innovative, integrative trauma treatment
This article, co-authored with an expert consultant and trainer in EMDR, discusses its development as an innovative treatment for trauma. We describe the resistance and marginalization of this technique in its early years, and then discuss the growing body of research that demonstrates it being an evidence-based and effective practice for treating trauma. In an… Read more »
Trauma treatment: The need for on-going innovation
This article introduces a special issue of the journal Practice Innovations. Dr. Courtois and I were inspired to create this special issue, and the accompanying special issue of Psychotherapy because of our collective dissatisfaction with both the process and outcome of APA’s PTSD Treatment Guidelines work group, of which I was a member, and which… Read more »
Guideline orthodoxy and resulting limitations of the APA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD in Adults: Introduction to the Special Issue
This article introduces a special issue of the journal Psychotherapy. Dr. Courtois and I were inspired to create this special issue, and the accompanying special issue of Practice Innovations because of our collective dissatisfaction with both the process and outcome of APA’s PTSD Treatment Guidelines work group, of which I was a member, and which… Read more »
Review of traumatic divorce and separation
This book review describes my response to a very impressive and thorough book for both attorneys and psychologists who work with women going through divorce after abusive or exploitative relationships. It’s must reading if you work with that population. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (2019). Review of traumatic divorce and separation…. Read more »
First do no harm: Is it any longer safe to write case reports?
This article, part of a special issue of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, explores the risks of harm to clients whose lives become the topic of a professional case study. Drawing upon the experience of Nicole Taus, who was subjected to multiple invasions of privacy by a psychological researcher intent on refuting her report of… Read more »
Looking outside the (voice)box
This article is one of several follow-ups to my classic piece, New voices new visions, originally published in 1989. It is part of a special issue on how various lesbians in positions of leadership in their communities have dealt with illness and disability. In it I revisit my experience of having my larynx stop working… Read more »
A look back at New voices, new visions: The view from here
This invited journal article, part of PWQ’s anniversary series of commentary from authors of its citation classics, revisits and reconsiders the author’s proposal of a lesbian and gay paradigm for psychology. It expands the original vision of this paradigm and discusses how it would apply in the current social and politcal context. Where to find… Read more »
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in trauma psychology: A topic comes out of the closet
This article is the editors’ introduction to the special issue of the journal, which is the first complilation of original research examining the intersection of LGBT issues and psychological trauma. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. & Pantalone, D. (2011). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in trauma psychology: A topic comes… Read more »
Guidelines for treating dissociative identity disorder in adults, Third revision: A tour de force for the dissociation field
This article introduces and briefly reviews the Guidelines developed by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Where to find FREE – Download full text from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (2011). Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults, Third Revision: A tour de force for the dissociation field. Journal of Trauma… Read more »
Cultural competence: A new way of looking at integration in psychotherapy
This article is based on a keynote address given at the meeting of the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration. Using metaphors from Star Trek, I discuss a 21st Century paradigm for understanding culturally competent practice, and describe how this model promotes integrative psychotherapy. Where to find Buy from APA Citation Brown, L.S. (2009)…. Read more »
Feminist therapy and self-inflicted violence
This article offers an excellent example of how feminist principles of empowerment and self-determination are applied in work with clients who harm themselves. Where to find Buy from publisher – free for those with Society for Clinical Psychology (Division 12) membership or institutional access. Citation Brown, L.S. & Bryan, T.C. (2007). Feminist therapy and self-inflicted… Read more »
Still subversive after all these years: The relevance of feminist therapy in the age of evidence-based practice
In this article, based on my Carolyn Wood Sherif Memorial Award Address, I address questions of the viability of feminist practice in the current zeitgeist. Using the framework of responding to questions raised by doctoral students about feminist therapy, I address how feminist practice aligns with the evidence-based practice movement, particularly those aspects focusing on… Read more »
Don’t be a sheep: How this eldest daughter became a feminist therapist
If you want to know how I ended up here professionally, this is the article to read. Where to find Buy from publisher – free for those with Society for Clinical Psychology (Division 12) membership or institutional access. Citation Brown, L.S. (2005). Don’t be a sheep: How this eldest daughter became a feminist therapist. In… Read more »
Sexuality, lies, and loss: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual perspectives on trauma
An article in which I explore how exposure to homophobia and heterosexism is systemically traumatizing to many LGBT individuals. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (2003). Sexuality, lies, and loss: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual perspectives on trauma. Journal of Trauma Practice,2, pp. 55-68.
Symptomatic clients and memories of childhood abuse: What the trauma and child sexual abuse literature tells us
This article represents the final work and opinions of the three trauma experts, myself included, who served on the APA Working Group on Recovered Memories of Abuse. Although practice norms have evolved and the scientific foundation for working with remembering adults has expanded, this is an important historical document for anyone interested in the memory… Read more »
The private practice of subversion: Psychology as Tikkun Olam
This is the awards address I gave after being honored by APA for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Public Service. In it I used the Biblical metaphor of “dry bones” as a springboard for exploring external and internal threats to the practice of a social justice-oriented psychology. I use the concept of Tikkun Olam, the Hebrew… Read more »
New voices, new visions: Toward a lesbian/gay paradigm for psychology
My citation classic, in which I used an experience of illness as the stepping-off point for proposing a theory about how the experience of marginalized people could expand psychology’s worldview. My recent article in Psychology of Women Quarterly, A look back at New voices, new visions: The view from here, revisits some of the points… Read more »
Beyond thou shalt not: Thinking about ethics in the lesbian therapy community
Some of my earliest work looking at issues of living and practicing ethically in the context of role overlap in the small towns that are urban lesbian communities. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (1988). Beyond thou shalt not: Thinking about ethics in the lesbian therapy community. Women and Therapy, 8, pp…. Read more »
From alienation to connection: Feminist therapy with Post-traumatic stress disorder
This is my first published work on trauma, which won the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. The start of my integration of feminist and trauma treatment concepts. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (1986). From alienation to connection: Feminist therapy with Post-traumatic stress disorder. Women and Therapy…. Read more »
Finding new language: Getting beyond analytic verbal shorthand in feminist therapy
My first attempt at doing theory in feminist therapy. Readers can see the roots of what eventually came to fruition ten years later in Subversive Dialogues. Where to find Buy from publisher Citation Brown, L.S. (1984). Finding new language: Getting beyond analytic verbal shorthand in feminist therapy. Women and Therapy, 3, pp. 73-80. See also… Read more »