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and the intersection of various forms of oppression within our economic and sociopolitical
system (Mullaly, 2007). Feminist theory calls critical attention to the continued
marginalization and oppression of women in society (Carniol, 2005; Hill Collins, 1994;
Rossiter, 1988), which is centrally relevant to the idea of serving overburdened and
isolated families at a time of life when women are particularly vulnerable. Relationalcultural
theory 3 focuses on the importance of authentic, empathic, reciprocal and
supportive relationships, particularly in women’s lives (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver &
Surrey; 1991; Miller & Stiver, 1997).
These theories inform and support my work, and help me to analyze,
understand, and re-frame the many situations that I confront on a day-to-day basis. The
weaving together of these theories also creates a strong foundation that helps me
navigate between the different program philosophies that I outline in this paper. These
theories are discussed further in Chapter 4, Theoretical Framework.
3 At the time of this writing, “Relational-cultural theory” was the term commonly used;
when first introduced by Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver and Surrey in 1991, it was called
“self-in-relation” theory [R. Paris, personal communication, 5 March 2010].
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