Revisiting Identity: A Therapeutic Approach to Counselling Women in Midlife

Abstract

Women of middle age may present in the counselling setting with a variety of issues contributing to their experience of psychological distress. The author contends that these diverse issues may also pose challenges to a woman’s identity development during the midlife period of the adult lifespan. The author presents a discussion of the issues experienced by many midlife women, and provides a conceptual analysis of how these may challenge a woman’s identity and contribute to the psychological distress suffered by many midlife women. The author proposes that therapeutic interventions that support the co-construction and re-authoring of “narrative identity” may be effective in working with women who are struggling during midlife. These issues are presented in the format of a manuscript thesis and intended as a reference for therapists who are working with this population. A literature review and conceptual analysis are employed as the research methodology.