Judith V. Jordan, Ph.D. is the
Director of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at the Wellesley
Centers for Women. She has been a founding scholar and is one of the
creators for the nationally recognized psychological theory known as
Relational-Cultural Theory. In addition to her position at WCW, Dr. Jordan
is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. After
graduating phi beta kappa and magna cum laude from Brown University, she
earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Harvard University where she
received commendation for outstanding academic performance.
She was the
director of Psychology Training as well as the director of the Women's
Studies program at McLean Hospital. For the past 20 years she has worked
with her colleagues, the late Jean Baker Miller, the late Irene Stiver, and
Jan Surrey on the development of what has come to be known as the
relational-cultural model of development.
Wellesley Centers for Women
my work as a therapist focuses on lessening the suffering created by
disconnection, bringing people back to a sense of belonging and mattering.
i am also dedicated to changing the social context that disempowers and
wounds so many, as change agents we have a responsibility to individuals
and community. Mutual Empathy at core
Relational-Cultural Therapy (Theories of Psychotherapy) 1st Edition
by Judith V. Jordan
good section on shame and guilt,(pg 100) "shame
is an essential relational affect and that it can be defined as a
sense of unworthiness to be in connection, an absence of hope that an
empathic response will be forthcoming from another person. "
self-empathy - "Empathic possibility is the real
antidote and healing path for shame. Patients must develop empathy
with themselves (self-empathy) and with others. This expansion of
empathy both with self and other is at the heart of coming into
deeper, more healing connection. "
Keynote Address: The Radical Reality of Relationship: The Power of Connection by Judith V. Jordan, Ph.D.
Together we can create radical and life sustaining empathy.
Dr. Maureen
Walker: Transforming Community Through Disruptive Empathy
2. Jordan, J.V.
Empathy and Self-Boundaries. Work in Progress. Stone Center for
Developmental Services and Studies, Wellesley, MA, 1984.
3. Jordan, J.V.
The Meaning of Mutuality. Work in Progress. Stone Center for Developmental
Services and Studies. Wellesley, MA, 1986.
4. Jordan, J.V.
Clarity in Connection: Empathic Knowing, Desire, and Sexuality. Work in
Progress, No. 29. Stone Center for Developmental Services and Studies,
Wellesley, MA, 1987.
Jordan, J.V. Relational Development through Mutual Empathy. In: Bohart, A.,
Greenberg, R., eds.
Empathy Reconsidered: New Directions in Psychotherapy. Washington, APA
Press, 1997: 343-353.
Women's Growth in
Connection: Writings from the Stone Center
edited by Judith V. Jordan
In Part 1 of this Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI)
Roundtable discussion, Amy Banks, M.D., Director of Advanced Training,
Judy Jordan, Ph.D., Director and Founding Scholar, and Maureen Walker,
Ph.D., Director of Program Development, discuss how the institute was
formed and how they each became part of this groundbreaking community of
practitioners.
Part 2: Discovering the Brain Connection
In Part 2 of this Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI)
Roundtable discussion, Amy Banks, M.D., Director of Advanced Training,
looks at her professional journey in clinical work and how it has shaped
the notion of community and separation. She talks specifically of one
interaction, and how working at JBMTI opened her eyes and how exciting
it was to work with women who looked at things from a different
perspective.
Relational-Cultural
Theory "All human being grow in and toward relationships throughout
their lives."
The importance of mutual empathy in relationships and mutual
empowerment. Mutuality.
Relational/Cultural Theory - Stephanie Brown
"Relational cultural theory conceptualizes empathy in a mutual,
interactive and humanistic way. Mutual empathy is one of the essential
relational elements in establishing a constructive helping relationship.
Unlike traditional conceptualizations of empathy, the
relational/cultural approach conceptualization of empathy reflects the
underlying belief about the nature and values of the client-worker
relationship based on mutual respect and equality, empathetic
responsiveness and the motivation for emotional connectedness with
others. Carl Roger’s description of empathy in his client-centered
approach has been widely accepted in the field of social work and
provided foundation for its meaning in professional literature. "
"In addition to the concepts of mutuality, real engagement, and
therapeutic authenticity, theorists at the Stone Center, Wellesley
College emphasize the following core ideas in their relational cultural
model: people grow through and toward relationships throughout their
lives; relational differentiation and elaboration characterize growth;
mutual empathy and empowerment are at the core of growth-fostering
relationships; and mutual empathy is the vehicle for change in therapy,
(Jordan et al., 1991)."
The Development of Relational-Cultural Theory
"Beginnings: Self-in-Relation
Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) has grown from the early work of Jean
Baker Miller, M.D. who wrote the best-selling book Toward New Psychology
of Women. Since the first edition was published in 1976, the book has
sold over 200,000 copies, has been translated into 20 languages, and
published in 12 countries. In her work, Dr. Miller explored the
importance of dynamics of dominance and subordination in human
relationships and began to reframe the psychology of women as a
psychology centered in relationships."
