The psychological is participatory

Counseling centers for women are important institutions founded by the second women`s movement. In The Psychological is Participatory, researchers are conducting research together with counselors and clients of women`s counseling centers. We are interested in the life stories of women who seek help at counseling centers. Therefore, biographical interviews with the participation of female citizens are at the center of the research project. The data from the interviews are then condensed into biographical "profiles and made publicly accessible in an online archive (feministvoices.com). The perspective of women clients has very rarely been considered in the history of psychology. Disadvantaged women in particular are often not heard, for example immigrant women or single mothers affected by poverty. Our research with clients aims to empower women and to explore with them how social circumstances have shaped their lives. To this end, the women are guided in workshops to document their knowledge in the form of narrated stories. This method of oral history research can and should be carried on in the women`s social communities and the counseling centers even after the project has ended. The researchers will then conduct a comparative analysis of the women`s interviews with interviews conducted in a previous research project. The previous project focused on feminist psychology and gender justice at women`s counseling centers in Vienna. The Viennese counseling centers Frauen* beraten Frauen* and Peregrina are participating in the project. The project is led by Ass.-Prof. Dr. Nora Ruck, and Dr. Barbara Rothmüller is research associate, at Sigmund Freud Private University Vienna.