Discuss your experiences and those of your friends, with regard to alcohol consumption, especially binge drinking and recreational drugs. What do you feel is driving the use of abuse of substances? a

Discuss your experiences and those of your friends, with regard to alcohol consumption, especially binge drinking and recreational drugs. What do you feel is driving the use of abuse of substances? a
Summary FACTORS PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH• Social support enhances mental health. • Females seek and use social support more than males do. • In reaction to stress, women more often show the “tend and befriend” response, whereas men are more likely to exhibit “fight or flight” behavior. • Optimism is linked to positive mental and physical health. MENTAL HEALTH IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE • Stress levels increase for girls and boys during adolescence. Much of girls’ stress stems from relationship problems and is linked to higher rates of depression. • Externalizing problems in girls are less com- mon than internalizing problems, but are more likely to be associated with adult malad- justment. EATING DISORDERS • Anorexia nervosa is marked by severe weight loss and fear of being overweight. • Bulimia nervosa is characterized by cycles of binging and purging. • Biological, psychological, and cultural factors are involved in these disorders, which occur most often in adolescent girls. SUBSTANCE USE AND ABUSE • Women are less likely to be heavy drinkers than men, but binge drinking is on the in- crease in college women. • Women’s alcoholism starts later than men’s, progresses more quickly, and is diagnosed at a more advanced stage. • Drinking in pregnancy can cause FASD. • Females are less likely than males to use most illegal drugs. ANXIETY DISORDERS AND DEPRESSION • Anxiety disorders are more common in women than men. These include panic disor- ders and specific phobias. • Depression is twice as common in women as in men. Possible explanations for this difference include biological factors, stressful life events, learned helplessness, self-silencing, and women’s ruminative style in responding to depression. MENTAL HEALTH OF SEXUAL MINORITY WOMEN • Homophobia can cause considerable stress in the lives of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals, resulting in a variety of psychological problems. • Effective coping mechanisms include accepting one’s sexual orientation, having social support and a satisfying relationship, and participating in the LGBT community. MENTAL HEALTH OF OLDER WOMEN • The psychological health of women improves as they get older. • Older women who cope successfully with aging tend to integrate agency and communion. • Some older women continue their careers; others become volunteers or advocates for so- cial causes. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS • Gender bias exists in diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. • Women of color face external stresses, which can intensify mental health problems and pre- vent them from seeking help. • Traditional psychotherapies are marked by a power imbalance between therapist and cli- ent, and focus on internal causes of emotional problems. • Feminist therapy is nonsexist, encourages equal power between therapist and client, and focuses on societal causes of women’s problems. Chapter 13 Mental Health If You Want to Learn More Barnes, D.L. (Ed.). (2014). Women’s reproductive mental health across the lifespan. New York: Springer. Beauchamp, T.P. & Hinshaw, S.P. (2013). Child and adolescent psychopathology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Choate, L.H. (2013). Eating disorders and obesity: A coun- selor’s guide to prevention and treatment. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Comas-Diaz, L. & Greene, B. (Eds.). (2013). Psychological health of women: Intersections, challenges, and opportu – nities. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Enns, C.Z. & Williams, E.N. (Eds.). (2013). The Oxford handbook of feminist multicultural counseling psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Enns, C.Z., Rice, J.K., & Nutt, R.L. (2015). Psychological practice with women: Guidelines, diversity, and empow- erment. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Glaser, G. (2014). Her best kept secret: Why women drink and how they can regain control. New York: Simon & Schuster. Kopala, M. & Keital, M. (2017). Handbook of counseling women (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Orel, N.A. & Fruehauf, C.A. (Eds.). (2014). The lives of LGBT older adults: Understanding challenges and resilience. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Reel, J.J. (2013). Eating disorders: An encyclopedia of causes, treatments, and prevention. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC- CLIO. Robinson-Wood, T. (2017). The convergence of race, ethnicity, and gender: Multiple identities in counseling . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Singh, A.E. & Dickey, L.M. (Eds.). (2017). Affirmative counseling and psychological practice with transgender and gender nonconforming clients. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Websites Mental Health Mental Health Net: Self-Help Resources Index http://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/psychological- self-tools-online-self-help-book/ National Mental Health Association http://www.nmha.org Suicide Prevention Action Network http://www.spanusa.org Eating Disorders http://www.mirror-mirror.org/ National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) http://nationaleatingdisorders.org/ http://www.anad.org Alcohol and Substance Abuse National Institute on Drug Abuse http://www.nida.nih.gov Vital Older Women Older Women’s League (OWL) http://www.owl-national.org/ Center for Healthy Aging http://www.ncoa.org/center-for-healthy-aging