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The Psychology of Female Violence

Crimes Against the Body

• By Anna Motz

• Price: $95.00
• Binding: Hardback (also available in Paperback)
• Pages: 408
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 17th January 2008
• ISBN: 978-0-415-40386-3

About the Book

What are the causes of violence in women?

What can be done to help these women and their victims?

Why does society deny the fact of female violence?

This book explores the nature and causes of female violence from the perspectives of psychodynamic theory and forensic psychology. This fully updated and expanded second edition explores developments in research and services for violent women. Recent high profile cases of female violence are discussed alongside clinical material and theory. New topics include: the Victoria Climbié Inquiry, the controversy related to the diagnosis of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder in women, and the impact of pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia websites. New chapters address central clinical issues of working with women who kill and designing therapeutic services for women in secure mental health settings.

Other major topics include:

• Women who sexually and physically abuse children
• Infanticide
• Fabricated and induced illness
• Self Harm

The Psychology of Female Violence will be valuable to trainees and practitioners working in the fields of clinical and forensic psychology, women’s studies, sociology, psychiatric nursing, social work, probation, counselling, psychoanalysis, the criminal justice system and criminology.

Reviews

"This scholarly work by Anna Motz is a vital resource for all professionals dealing with violent women. It is a wonderful book and I am proud to be associated with it." -
Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC

Reviews of the first edition:

"Motz has provided not only an outline of the complexity of each aspect of female violence, but also a full explanation of the means by which each of the professional agencies combine to ascertain diagnosis." - Tessa Adams, British Journal of Psychotherapy.

"Learning about this material rather than simply feeling the emotional impact of it is one of the factors that will make this book essential reading for anybody who comes into contact with violent women." - Anne Aieyebusi, Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.

Table of Contents

Introduction. Part I: Violence Against Children. The Development of Maternal Abuse. Female Sexual Abuse of Children. Maternal Physical Abuse. Fabricated or Induced Illness. Part II: Violence Against the Self. Deliberate Self-harm. Anorexia Nervosa. Part III: Violence Against Others. Battered Women Who Kill. Part IV: Clinical Applications. Working with Women Who Kill. Hiding and Being Lost: The Need for Women Only Secure Units. Conclusion.

About the Author(s)

Anna Motz is a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with the Thames Valley Forensic Mental Health Services. She has extensive clinical experience with women as perpetrators and victims of violence and with the staff teams who work with them. She has written widely on this topic and is the Past President of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.