| Title | On becoming an elder: an immigrant Latina therapist narrative |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2009 |
| Authors | Flores, YG |
| Journal | Women & TherapyWomen & Therapy |
| Volume | 32 |
| Pagination | 170-185 |
| ISBN Number | 0270-3149 |
| Keywords | Aging, Cultural Diversity, Divorce, Family Relations, Family Therapy, Feminism, Hispanics, Immigrants, Life Experiences, Psychotherapists, Self Concept, Sex Role, Social Class |
| Abstract | The journey from student to licensed psychologist, from young adult to seasoned and mature clinician, and, last, to elder in the Latino therapeutic community entails multiple migrations. In this paper, I explore the recurrent patterns and themes of these migrations across boundaries of nations, class, sexualities, and family formations within and outside the therapeutic milieu. Interwoven in the narrative is a questioning of the gender roles and cultural mandates that, as a woman, wife, mother, lover, teacher, and clinician I have had to negotiate and renegotiate. Through a feminist lens, I examine the web of relationships, particularly with my chosen sisters, and the path to reclaim a more whole, integrated, spiritual, and embodied self. Positioned as an elder, I examine how this positionality informs and nuances my teaching and clinical work. |
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