Breaking the Rules: Women in Prison and Feminist Therapy challenges therapists, public policymakers, voters, and those in the criminal justice system to find treatment options, empowerment strategies, viable resources, community support, and policies that can help women with problems such as drug abuse, domestic violence, poverty, and prostitution rather than perpetually punishing them.Breaking the Rules shows you how our society makes 'otherof those among us who are most vulnerable, injured, and without resources. It digs under your skin and forces you to look at:the histories of abuse among women who have murdered their partnersthe impact of race and ethnicity on patterns of mothering and caretaking of children of women prisonersthe lack of treatment options for addicted women prisonershow prison reawakens the feelings of powerlessness in women who have suffered childhood physical and sexual abusehelping women inmates develop marketable educational and vocational skills, support systems, and positive perceptions of themselvescollaborative strategies that challenge the status quo of programs and support available to female offenders and their familiesa relational model of treatment that is based on the integration of three theoretical perspectivesthe strengths and limitations of twelve step programs for womenMapping the problems and offering solutions, Breaking the Rules walks you through treatment strategies and self-confirming experiences--such as feminist therapy, prisoner-led support groups, affirmative prison programming, and art therapy--that help women draw on their strengths, come to terms with their pasts, and meet future challenges head on.

Contents
Preface

• Women Prisoners: A Contextual Framework
• The Experiences of Women in Prison: Implications for Services and Prevention
• An Analysis of the Impact of Prison on Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
• Comparison Study of Women Who Have and Have Not Murdered Their Abusive Partners
• Managing Motherhood in Prison: The Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Child Placements
• Restricted Love
• Children Without Childhoods: A Feminist Intervention Strategy Utilizing Systems Theory and Restorative Justice in Treating Female Adolescent Offenders
• Lessons from a Mother's Program in Prison: A Psychosocial Approach Supports Women and Their Children
• Girls in Jail
• Women in Prison: Approaches in the Treatment of Our Most Invisible Population
• To Find a Voice: Art Therapy in a Women's Prison
• A Feminist Examination of Boot Camp Prison Programs for Women
• Index
• Reference Notes Included