Ideological meaning-making among therapists working with survivors of sexual abuse

Background

The work of women who treat survivors of sexual abuse is often based on a feminist approach to gender-based violence, which requires engaging with gendered social arrangements such as power relations between men and women. In this sense, the therapeutic space focuses on issues of an inherently conflictual nature, and thus requires dealing with power struggles between social groups, and the constant assessment of perceptions, attitudes, unequal forces, and social contexts. By acting thus, the therapeutic space becomes a source of structuring for the therapists' ideological worldview. Furthermore, therapists are often exposed to the work of organizations that embrace feminist principles, and that are involved in processes of championing socio-political and feminist consciousness. Nevertheless, there is no research literature examining the process of ideological meaning-making that therapists working with survivors of sexual abuse go through. Ideological meaning-making can be defined as “the retrieval or reformulation of ideological meanings that are derived from the sociopolitical domain, negotiated with the social environment, and recontextualized in the broad social context to regain coherence of the personal and the global” (Barak & Leichtentritt, 2015, p.360).

The research literature lacks adequate references to ideological meaning-making processes in general, and ideology in particular, with regard to professionals working with individuals coping with stressful life events—including therapists working with survivors of sexual abuse. Addressing this gap, this study examines the ideological meaning-making on various issues among therapists. Hence, the research question is: What is the process of ideological meaning-making undertaken among women who work with survivors of sexual abuse?

Method

This qualitative study follows a descriptive phenomenological approach. The data collection was conducted by means of structured in-depth interviews, using an interview 
guide, with 10 women therapists working with survivors of sexual abuse. The therapists were of different therapeutic orientations and working in different treatment organizations in Israel. The author conducted textual analysis, following the guiding principles of the descriptive phenomenological approach.

Findings

The first chapter of the findings deals with the experience of therapists' entry into the field— outlining how it generates a profound challenge to their preconceptions and perceptions, blurs the boundaries between public and private spaces, and destabilizes myths they previously perceived as true. The second chapter deals with the considerable efforts made by the therapists to balance the radical viewpoints they adopted since entering the field, through insisting on maintaining the conflicting poles of their worldview (before and after entering the field), without attempting to eliminate or reconcile them. This process is accompanied by attempts to incorporate the ideological principles they hold into their daily lives. The third chapter explores the constant “sexual abuse alertness” that therapists experience, and follows their ethical demand for responsibility and ethical behavior—a demand they direct to themselves and to others in society. This demand is often manifested through the explicit expectation to acknowledge and address the phenomenon of sexual abuse. Following that, therapists assume the responsibility of formally and/or informally representing the survivors' voices in society, against the backlash of society's resistance to acknowledging the phenomenon of sexual abuse. The final chapter considers changes in therapists' perceptions of power relations in society, power relations between the public and private space, and the ways in which these are expressed in the realm of their own intimate relations with their partners. These processes are accompanied by changes in therapists’ perceptions of power in society, including the power of the state to protect survivors of sexual abuse.

Conclusions

The present study shows that, in line with Park's Meaning-Making Model (Park, 2010), therapists indeed experience a discrepancy between “global” and “situational” meaning as they enter the field. The findings show that the process of ideological meaning-making is used as a resource for reducing the discrepancy between “global” and “situational” meaning, and also invites deliberate choice regarding renewed approval of the therapists' ideological beliefs. The process is not only about settling the discrepancies between the global and situational meanings, but also—and perhaps more importantly—about reaffirming the global belief system, even when this may be inconsistent with the situational meanings created during their work as therapists.

The present study proposes a two-axis model for describing the process of ideological meaning-making among therapists: An intra-personal axis, ranging from the total rejection of the “old” worldview to total acceptance of the “new” worldview; and an inter-personal axis, ranging from "personal-ethical responsibility" to “social-ethical responsibility”. The analytical prism adopted by the present study suggests that this process occurs as a result of the encounter between the therapists and their clients, but extends beyond the client-therapist encounter to the socio-political realm. As such this research study highlights the need to adopt a socio-political viewpoint in order to fully understand processes that are commonly regarded as psychological-individual, such as transference, counter-transference, “secondary traumatization”, "vicarious traumatization" and/or “posttraumatic growth.

Research Contribution

The theoretical importance of the study lies in its contribution to the constructivist concept of Meaning-Making, by exploring its ideological component - a component yet to be considered in relation to therapists who work with survivors of sexual abuse. Furthermore, from a practical perspective, the study provides a useful framework for training employees and therapists in the field of sexual trauma. Understanding the personal ideological processes of therapists will help facilitate the development of better training models for therapists, as well as better models for supporting and assisting them in their work.