Constructing a critical feminist psychology

The first part of the thesis analyses the conditions for the development of a critical feminist psychology, while the second part exemplifies the practice of a critical feminist psychology in relation to health—specifically breast cancer. The chapters in Part One consider, in turn, the institutional context within which a critical feminist psychology is necessarily located; the theories upon which it might draw; and the methods which it might use, with a particular emphasis on focus group methodology. The chapters in Part Two offer reviews of the feminist and psychosocial literature on breast cancer; and analyses of a data set consisting of thirteen focus group discussions in which women with breast cancer talk about their experiences. The analyses draw upon critical and discursive approaches to examine, in particular, the women's talk about "thinking positive", and about the "causes" of breast cancer.