Treating Women's Fear of Failure

From Worry to Enlightenment

This new book looks at an important issue--the emotional impact of success upon women--at a time when opportunities are more available to them than ever before. Using research, clinical experience, and personal anecdotes, the contributors examine the timely issues of women and worry, women's sense of their own entitlement, fear of success and fear of failure, and women's impostor feelings. The dilemma that feminist therapists frequently experience of encouraging women clients, often superbly qualified in their fields, to take a risk that might involve rejection or failure, is highlighted here. Therapists will recognize the often expressed fears of academic and intellectual failure, as well as the fears of various interpersonal failures that result from a combination of women's opportunities in society as well as socialization.