Interview with Dr. Rachel Hare-Mustin

Abstract

Rachel Hare-Mustin, although an integral part of the family therapy movement, has been as much an outsider as an insideroffering ethical, feminist, and post-modern critiques of family therapy for nearly three decades. She has lived by the Quaker principle, “speak truth to power” and has continuously risked disfavor in the family therapy and psychology fields. She is famous for using her wit to palliate strong statements about therapy, as evidenced in quotable quotes such as, “Don't let worry kill you. Let a therapist help” “Therapy that is not worth doing is not worth doing well” and “There are people who know everything, but that's all they know.” Given her striking integrity and witty style, I was particularly curious to learn about her experiences as one of the earliest feminist family therapists.