This groundbreaking text interrogates the constructed boundary between therapy and violence, by examining therapeutic practice and discourse through the lens of a psychologist and a survivor of sexual abuse.

It asks, what happens when those we approach for help cause further harm? Can we identify coercive practices and stop sexual abuse in psychology, psychiatry, and medicine? Tosh explores these questions and more to illustrate that many of the therapies considered fundamental to clinical practice are deeply problematic when issues of consent and sexual abuse are considered.

The book examines a range of situations where medical power and authority produces a context where the refusals and non-consent of oppressed groups are denied, dismissed, or ignored, arguing that key concepts and discourses have resulted in the production and standardisation of a therapeutic rape culture in the helping professions. Tosh uses critical intersectionality theory and discourse analysis to expertly highlight the complex interrelationships between race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability in our understanding of abuse and how we define survivors.

Drawing on a wide range of comprehensive examples, including experiences and perspectives from cisgender and transgender men and women, as well as nonbinary and intersex people, this is essential reading for students and researchers of critical and queer psychology, gender studies, as well as mental health practitioners and social workers.

About the Author

Jemma Tosh is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and Director of Psygentra, an organisation that specialises in the psychology of gender and trauma. Jemma is the author of Perverse Psychology (2014) and Psychology and Gender Dysphoria: Feminist and Transgender Perspectives (2016).

Book Information
ISBN 9781138078857
Author Jemma Tosh
Format Paperback
Page Count 148
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 240g