Internalizing power dynamics: The wounds and the healing

Journal/Book: Women Ther. 1996; 18: 10 Alice St, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. Haworth Press Inc. 129-148.

Abstract: We live in a patriarchal society that produces interlocking webs of power-based relationships. These pervasive cultural values emphasize domination, dualism, competition, individualism, and power over others and nature, This overvaluation and distortion of the Masculine Principle creates an imbalance and devaluation of the Feminine Principle of interconnection, relatedness, and collaborative mutuality. The interplay of these factors profoundly impacts interpersonal relationships, psychological structures, and personal identities. Social relations and intrapsychic phenomena are rooted in hierarchical relationships of oppression which contribute to fear, rejection, and denigration of differences. These processes will be explored in the context of social differences with an emphasis on social class and issues related to self-worth, deserving, and entitlement. The social-psychological dynamics of internalization and pathways to psychotherapeutic healing and self-recovery will be explored.

Note: Article JF Hertzberg, 356 Spruce St, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA

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