Continuing to Discuss Women Who Have Made Contributions to Mental Health

                  I think it is important that we recognize the many women who have made contributions to the mental health field. Even today there are people who try to diminish the accomplishments of women. This makes it even more important that we learn about and celebrate these women.  If you took a high school or college introductory psychology course, you are no doubt familiar with Freud, Maslow, Piaget, Skinner, and Watson. All men. I did a Google search for pioneers of psychology. The results were all men. As my last few blog posts have shown, there are many women who have made equally as important contributions to psychology and mental health. So, here are two more women that we should know about.

 

Francine Shapiro (1948-2019)

 

“The past affects the present even without our being aware of it.”

 

                  Francine Shapiro created Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.  This treatment is a safe and effective way to help people address and process traumatic memories. Even though this treatment has been controversial, it has been found to be effective for working with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

                  Shapiro realized that when people have unprocessed trauma or trauma that is not fully processed, the feelings associated with it linger in the nervous system. Her first realization that eye movements could decrease negative emotion came while she was walking in a park in 1987 and noticed how her eye movements were associated with distressing memories that she had. She experimented with eye movements and found that others experienced a desensitization to distressing memories as a response to eye movements. This led her to develop EMDR. It includes work with the therapist and the eye movements. There is a set procedure that involves recalling a memory before the work with eye movements. EMDR is generally, conducted over 6 to 12 sessions.

                  In 2004 the American Psychiatric Association recommended EMDR as an effective treatment for trauma. Shapiro’s discovery and work are helping people with post-traumatic stress disorder. 

 

 

Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

 

“It is only after one is in trouble that one realizes how little sympathy and kindness there are in the world.”

 

                  Nellie Bly was a journalist, not a psychologist. As a woman, she fought to create opportunities to write newspaper articles. She wanted to write an article on immigrant’s experiences, but was denied by the editor of a newspaper, Joseph Pulitzer. Instead, he challenged her to investigate and write an article about Blackwell’s Island, a notorious New York mental asylum. Bly went undercover by acting as if she had a mental illness. She was admitted to Blackwell’s Island, where she experienced how badly people with mental illness were treated. The result of her time at Blackwell’s Island was a six-part series entitled Ten Days in the Madhouse. People were shocked by what she reported. Her reporting led to increased funding to improve conditions in the asylum. 

                  While Bly is remembered as the founder of investigative journalism, her series, Ten Days in the Madhouse, helped to change conditions in mental health facilities. She exposed the mistreatment of people with mental illness. She gave these people a face and made others aware of their humanity.  Bly’s work demonstrates that a person can influence how people with mental illness are treated even if they are not trained in psychology, leading the way for future mental health advocates.

 

                  Shapiro and Bly made contributions to mental health in different time periods. Bly’s efforts demonstrate that the treatment of mental illness has long been an issue. We are still fighting to improve the care of those with mental illness. Bly’s writing opened doors to allow the world to see that improvements in the care of those with mental illness are necessary. 

                  Shapiro’s work is much more recent. Her work provides a treatment option for people living with a specific mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder. It demonstrates that new approaches to treatment are always possible. We cannot stop researching and developing treatments for mental illness. 

                  As with the other women I have featured in the last few posts, I am guessing most readers have never heard the names of these women. I encourage you to remember the work of these women. Recognize their work. Celebrate it.