What are the patterns dominating women’s lives today? What are the issues which confront women in their relationships, their work, and their families? From adolescence and adult partnerships, through motherhood, to growing old Women’s Lives, originally published in 1990, explores themes which are central to women’s experience, focusing on areas such as growing up, women on their own, sexuality, bringing up children, and family relationships.

Sue Llewelyn and Kate Osborne argue that a multi-faceted approach is needed to understand a woman’s life, taking in not only her personal psychology but also the social context in which she lives. The authors are both clinical psychologists with an interest in psychotherapy, and they draw on their own direct experience of working with women in distress, as well as on feminist writing, novels, and autobiographies to illustrate their arguments. Each chapter presents a detailed case history, highlighting an important aspect of women’s lives, and demonstrates the increased understanding to be gained from a combined approach using social psychology, feminist ideas, and psychodynamic insights.

Designed for a wide readership, including psychologists, doctors, social workers, counsellors, and nurses, Women’s Lives will also be of great value to people on women’s studies courses and to those seeking a greater understanding of themselves or others.

Professor Susan Llewelyn is Emeritus Fellow, Harris Manchester College, Oxford University where she was previously Professor of Clinical Psychology, and Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Sue worked for over twelve years in the NHS as a clinical psychologist in Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Dorset, and for ten years as an academic clinical psychologist at the Universities of Nottingham and Edinburgh. She then became Director of the Oxford Doctoral Course in Clinical Psychology at Oxford University for sixteen years. She also worked for six years for Oxford Health NHSFT as an internal advisor on leadership and organisational development. Sue has particular interests in the psychological therapies and team working, Over her career Sue has written or co-authored over one hundred academic and professional papers and seven books. Sue is married and has two children.

Kate Osborne taught Applied Psychology at the University of Wales before becoming a Clinical Psychologist. She also trained in family therapy and developed an interest in a feminist approach to psychotherapy before moving to France where she has lived for over 40 years. Following the birth of her three children she developed a feminist approach to parental support and worked with individual parents and groups for the “Ecole des Parents et des Educateurs” in Montpellier. She later developed support for parents of adolescents, specialising in problems of addiction, school phobia and eating disorders. After moving to the Massif Central she worked with a team of jurists providing psychological support for women experiencing domestic violence, where she also supervised social work teams involved in child protection as well as mentoring teachers and career guidance professionals. Since retiring she has been involved with a voluntary organisation offering emotional and linguistic support for English-speaking people living in France who are touched by cancer. She is currently President of Cancer Support France – Languedoc and enjoys developing a feminist approach to grand-parenting her seven grandchildren.