Power and Gender Issues from the Voices of Medical Family Therapists

Abstract

Explicit attention to issues of power and gender has been quite limited in the medical family therapy literature. A previous qualitative inquiry on which this current study is based revealed the influence of these issues, even though participants were not asked explicitly about power or gender. This study qualitatively analyzed interviews with 13 family therapists working in nonacademic medical settings for evidence of power and gender issues in their experiences collaborating with health care providers. Power concerns voiced by study participants included feeling one-down, unidirectional accommodation, reimbursement problems, professional identity issues, and practical matters having to do with office space, prescribing medication, and confidentiality. Participants further reported influencing medical setting staff and being viewed by some of their medical collaborators as threatening. Gender issues were evident in the lack of males doing this work in nonacademic settings, feminine role expectations in the “male” medical culture, the unique role of female sex therapists, and in the additional roles and gender-informed career decisions of the participants. Suggestions for continued attention to these issues in the growing field of medical family therapy are offered.