Keeping Your Eye on the Process: Body Image, Older Women, and Countertransference

Joanne Altschuler, Anne D. Katz
2010 Journal of gerontological social work  
Research on body image and older women has grown in the past decade. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding body image, older women, and countertransference. This article provides 7 case examples of racially and ethnically diverse women over 60, drawn from MSW student and agency staff supervision, and participant feedback from a national conference on aging workshop. Themes related to loss and grief, adult daughter and aging mother issues, incest, anger, disability, personality
more » ... rders, phobic reactions, and shame are discussed. Recommendations and implications for social work practice, education and research are provided. 201 the most part, these concerns are not directly raised by older female clients, and not listened for by social workers interacting with them. Older women who are clients at agencies and organizations serving older adults bring these unspoken values and concerns with them, along with such concrete requests for transportation, financial, and housing resources, which are comparatively less emotionally charged presenting problems. The profession of social work is geared toward developing the ability to integrate clients' presenting problems and underlying concerns. Unfortunately, the latter often takes a back seat to the former, sometimes due to time constraints, sometimes due to the worker's inexperience, and sometimes due to countertransference. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, it reports on themes and countertransference reactions to seven case examples of racially and ethnically diverse women 60 years and older, drawn from the authors' experiences with MSW student and agency staff supervision, and participant feedback from a national conference on aging workshop. Second, it discusses the meaning of the countertransference reactions to the body image concerns of women in the seven case examples. Third, the article offers recommendations and implications for social work practice, education and research regarding body image, older women, and countertransference.
doi:10.1080/01634370903507589 pmid:20336569 fatcat:qmfa62xryzawhcqbkft6n65oiu