Colette Dowling (born c. 1938) is an American writer best known for her 1981 book ''

The Cinderella Complex The Cinderella complex was first described by Colette Dowling, who wrote a book on women's fear of independence – an unconscious desire to be taken care of by someone else. The complex is said to become more apparent as a person grows older. ...

: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence'', which was a ''New York Times'' best-seller. She has a

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

practice in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Bibliography

*''The Skin Game'', 1971 *''How to Love a Member of the Opposite Sex: a Memoir'', 1976 *''The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence'', 1981 *''Perfect Women: Hidden Fears of Inadequacy and the Drive to Perform'', 1988 *''You Mean I Don't Have to Feel This Way?: New Help for Depression, Anxiety, and Addiction'', 1991 *''Red Hot Mamas: Coming Into Our Own at Fifty'', 1996 *''Maxing Out: Why Women Sabotage their Financial Security'', 1998 *''The Frailty Myth: Women Approaching Physical Equality'', 2000

Personal life

Colette Dowling was raised in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and got a BA from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Washington, D.C., 1958. Dowling has published eight books, including ''The Cinderella Complex'', an international best-seller translated into 23 languages. She has written essays and articles for

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Magazine, New York,

Harpers Harpers may refer to: * Harpers, popular misnomer for ''Harper's Magazine'', American monthly magazine * ''Harper's Bazaar'', monthly American fashion magazine * ''Harpers Wine & Spirit'', formerly ''Harpers Magazine'' (since 1878), British trade ...

, and

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

. In 2004, Dowling graduated with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

clinical social work Clinical social work is a specialty within the broader profession of social work. The American Board of Clinical Social Work (ABCSW) defines clinical social work as "a healthcare profession based on theories and methods of prevention and treatment ...

from The

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

School for Social Work. Following that, she entered training in

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York, receiving her certificate in psychoanalysis in 2009. She works as a psychotherapist in private practice in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and continues to write. Her office is in the

Flatiron Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places *Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...

district.

External links

* ''dead link''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Colette Living people 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers American feminist writers 1930s births Year of birth missing (living people)