An exploration of the discourses accessed by female therapists who identify as fat in their accounts of their own personal therapy

Abstract

An exploration of the discourses accessed by female therapists who identify as fat in their accounts of their own personal therapy Abstract Background and aims: The oppression and marginalisation of women with fat bodies is widely recognised, with women more likely to experience weight discrimination and internalised weight stigma than men. Research has indicated that anti-fat attitudes are also produced by mental health practitioners including therapists. Anti-fat attitudes are produced, consumed, and distributed through neoliberal discourses and this study aims to explore how these discourses are produced or resisted within the accounts of personal therapy of female therapists who identify as fat. The aim of this study is to contribute to the multi-disciplinary body of research relating to Fat Studies, the social justice agenda within counselling psychology and wider therapeutic practice. The research is carried out through an intersectional lens using a critical realist position. Methodology: Situated within a Critical Realist paradigm, this thesis uses a qualitative research approach using Critical Discourse Analysis. The research was informed by Fairclough’s (1992) Three-Dimensional Model of analysis to explore the discourses produced in the accounts of personal therapy by eight female therapists who identified as fat. The text analysed was produced from semi-structured interviews with the participants conducted by the researcher. Analysis: Analysis of the text identified that the women were negotiating a range of neoliberal discourses relating to the problematisation of their fat bodies. These discourses related to healthism, female attractiveness and choice and responsibility; with the intersectional nature of these discourses also highlighted. Within therapy, the women and their therapists were also negotiating these discourses along with discourses of body conformity, body acceptance and positivity. How these discourses are historically, culturally, and politically situated is also explored. Discussion and conclusion: The analysis is evaluated in relation to existing literature relating to weight stigma and therapy for individuals with large bodies. Discourses relating to external and internalised weight stigma are foregrounded, with recommendations made in relation to therapists taking a more critical social justice-informed approach to working with clients with large bodies.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Terry Hanley (Supervisor), Erica Burman (Supervisor) & Carl Emery (Supervisor)