Female Identity Formation and Response to Intimate Violence

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Description: This book is a vital resource for intervention programs, educators, social workers, counselors, psychotherapists, pastoral counselors, and survivors of intimate violence and their families. It gives the reader access to the inner emotions and psychological mechanisms of survivors of intimate violence in collective cultures that work to hold them captive in violent relationships. The author integrates the psychological developmental theories of Heinz Kohut and Erik Erikson with social, cultural, and religious aspects to demonstrate the collusive power of what she calls the orienting system (psychosocial and religious cultural force) in the formation of a female sense of self, to investigate the peculiar range of responses of females to intimate violence. Using theoretical and empirical research, the author claims that the demeanor and functionality of the female survivor of intimate violence is an adaptation that enables her to retain her socially prescribed roles, which she appropriates as a social identity and sense of self. A surprising aspect of this work is the transformative power of religion, also resourced in the orienting system, in transforming the psychic hold of survivors to cathected self-objects, to self-images that approximate a self in healthy relationship with God. Consequently the energies and investment released can be redirected to cohere in self-identities that can optimize drive, thrive and relationality. Endorsements: "Anne Kiome-Gatobu offers a prescient interpretation and courageous response to domestic violence in Kenya. It is astute and informative. It makes a welcome contribution to the important literature necessary for intercultural caregiving in a global world!" --Larry Kent Graham, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care, Iliff School of Theology "This is one of the best books I have read on female identity development in indigenous contexts. . . . Gatobu theorizes that for the female in Kenya, identity revolves around her role as wife and mother. Hence, the traditional feminist response to survivors of violence to exit the relationship is not effective, rather, a better approach must be geared towards reframing one's identity. This means empowerment through identity mirrored in relationship with God, an approach that integrates the woman's theological and psychological functioning. Though nestled in the Kenyan context, the theory is relevant beyond the Kenyan borders to any community-oriented context. A must-read for those who work with women glocally!" --Tapiwa N. Mucherera, Professor of Pastoral Counseling, Asbury Theological Seminary About the Contributor(s): Anne Kiome-Gatobu is Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling and the Dean of the School of Practical Theology at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. She obtained her PhD in Religion and Psychological Studies from the joint PhD program at the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology. A Native of Kenya, she has been involved in counseling and crisis intervention and critical intervention training both in the United States and internationally, working with victims and families of the 1998 US embassy bombing, the Columbine High School shooting, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.