When Marginalized Women “Dare to Take a Step”
Envisioning a Good Life Through Women’s Counseling and Feminist Participatory Action Research
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19219126 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barbara Rothmüller (0000-0001-9567-1357, Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien, corresponding author), Julia Struppe-Schanda (0009-0005-9706-5568, Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien, corresponding author), Isidora Šobot (ZoneOne Pharma (United States)), Nora Ruck (0000-0001-8042-5153, Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität Wien) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-27 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-07 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Women & Therapy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0270-3149 • E-ISSN: 1541-0315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02703149.2026.2679435 |
| OpenAlex | W7163917136 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
The voices of clients in general, and of marginalized women in particular, remain largely absent from research on psychotherapy and counseling. This paper presents the process and findings of a critical participatory action research project conducted with former clients of two women’s counseling centers in Vienna, Austria. Drawing on social mappings, semi-structured interviews, and group discussions, the study explored the psychosocial conditions that shape women’s possibilities for envisioning and pursuing a good life under conditions of structural inequality, including insecure residency status, limited access to childcare and employment, and gender-based violence. Women’s counseling centers emerged as important sites for building trust, accessing reliable information, and developing navigational skills for dealing with complex institutional systems. The findings further suggest that envisioning a good life is not solely an individual capacity. Rather, it is a socially situated and demanding process that depends on supportive social, relational, and institutional conditions. The article reflects on the potential of participatory action research to create collective spaces in which marginalized women can articulate experiences, imagine alternative futures, and develop new forms of collective agency. By involving marginalized women as co-researchers, the study contributes to feminist debates on participation, empowerment, and social justice.
Action (physics) · Action research · Citizen journalism · Feminism · Participatory action research · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
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| Highly cited | No |
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