Honoring Women and Their Roles in the Advancement of our Nation's Mental Health

Since 1987, the month of March has been designated as a time to honor the achievements, struggles, contributions and the vital role women have played throughout our historical and contemporary society.        

In the ever-expansive field of mental health, names like Anne Freud were instrumental in curating the mental health landscape we know today. Anne Freud, despite having never achieved a higher education, propelled an expanded focus on children’s mental health and became the founder of child psychoanalysis and one of its foremost practitioners. Mary Whiton Calkins, a noteworthy psychologist remembered for her writings that combined philosophy and psychology and focused on memory and sense of self. These remarkable pioneers are just a few of the innumerable women who have sought to galvanize a newer, modern outlook on mental health.

Key Points about the History of Women and Mental Health

• While women have been historically barred from participating as leaders in mental health, women have always been intrinsically involved in the frontlines of mental health. The roles that women have typically been escribed in our society all pertain in some way or another to mental health.
• We know that traditionally (and unfairly) women take on a higher proportion of caregiving for both children and elderly family members than men. Although roles have been shifting and more women have taken on executive roles in the workplace, 80% of caregivers are still comprised of women.
• Women also take on more ‘emotional labor’ than men in relationships and households. Emotional labor is defined as: “the mental activity required to manage or perform the routine tasks necessary for maintaining relationships and ensuring smooth running of a household or process, typically regarded as an unappreciated or unacknowledged burden borne disproportionately by women.”
• The notion that women are more often regarded as more nurturing, emotionally present and connected is a double-edged sword. It limits both men and women by promoting a false narrative that men are inherently less emotional and expressive, and limits women by favoring them as emotional caretakers.
• Studies have shown that as it applies to community, a woman’s role is pivotal. Friendships between women have been proven to be beneficial for their mental health by providing a unique source of support, particularly during times of loss or change.
• Women also maintain stronger social networks of friends and family, creating a strong social fabric of support upon which the pillars of community stand. When denied roles of leadership outside of the home, women instead focused on building and maintaining interpersonal relationships within the community and home.
• Often, women were asked to take on several roles: therapists to friends and family in emotional crisis, guidance counselors for those curious about their futures and confidante to friends and family alike. Women have made themselves into an integral component of a successful and mentally healthy community.

Lastly, there is, after all, much to be said about how much we still need to accomplish to brighten women’s futures, but in keeping with a lighter and more positive year, let us rather focus on how well women have succeeded despite the odds, and take note to apply these successes towards creating a better picture of mental health for us all.