Abstract
As the ambitious title indicates, The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women sets out to accomplish a grand goal: a comprehensive reference text relevant to women of all ages who are interested in a wide range of mental health issues. The individual chapters were written to be accessible to readers with a variety of cultural and educational backgrounds. Similarly, the contributors have a wide range of backgrounds; while some names are familiar, many authors are in private practice, write poetry, or write on psychology for the popular media. This attention to diversity results in many of the book's strengths. For instance, the use of humor and narrative case studies makes the content interesting and easy to read. In the end, however, inclusiveness comes at the cost of comprehensiveness.
The book comprises four parts: Psychology and the Life Cycle, Mental Disorders, Getting Help, and Life Enhancements. In general, the editors did a good job organizing the chapters (although the placement of the section on stress is puzzling), and they have provided useful lists of “related entries.” However, we would have liked to see more attention paid to the relevant research available on these topics. Most chapter authors gloss over research findings with general statements; reference to specific studies would have added depth to the entries.
In Part One, the contributors address the stages of women's lives, sexuality, and relationships, before delving into trauma and a discussion of the contextual influences on women's mental health. Thus, the first 130 pages are not directly relevant to women's mental health, but include the kind of material that would be covered in an undergraduate Psychology of Women course, albeit at a more superficial level. While we are sympathetic to the goal of contextualizing women's mental health, the wide-ranging content compounds the sprawling feel of this text. The section on women's sexual health is particularly witty and engaging. However, in contrast to the progressive approach shown elsewhere, the treatment of marriage is surprisingly traditional. For instance, it would have been interesting to add the choice to not marry alongside the choice to not have a child. We also found the trauma and domestic violence sections to be simplistic, given the complexity of the problems and the severity of the distress women in these situations experience. For instance, the author advises women who experience trauma to: connect with people who care, focus on the moment, focus on self-care, and not be afraid of their symptoms. Good advice as far as it goes, but it cannot reasonably be expected to help a woman cope with the aftermath of a sexual assault or a beating by her romantic partner. Similarly, Part Two, which describes the major emotional disorders, provides a useful introduction, but is far from a “complete guide” to such complex problems.
Part Three (“Getting Help”) focuses on psychotropic medications and psychotherapy, and provides somewhat more detail, with well-used narratives to make for an easy and light read. Importantly, since the general public is typically poorly informed about these issues, we commend the editors for including information on ethics and consent to treatment. Again, however, the information is useful only at an introductory level. In the final section on Life Enhancements, we enjoyed the chapter on spirituality. Rather than focusing on specific religions, the authors made points that will appeal to women from a variety of backgrounds.
Neither the introduction nor the promotional material specifies the intended audience for this book, and having read the book we remain confused. Women experiencing specific mental health problems would be better advised to read a book on that topic. Yet women without specific concerns may find many topics unlikely ever to be relevant to them (i.e., the chapter on schizophrenia). Ultimately, the book may be suited best to the reference section of a women's center, where it can be used to provide an overview of women's mental health and to point women in the direction of more substantive sources.