Feminist Therapy

Feminist therapy is an inclusive therapy that puts gender and power at the
center of the therapeutic process. Essential to this theory is the premise that
social and cultural context contributes to a persons problems. Further to
this is the foundational concept that psychological oppression of women and
the constraints imposed by the sociopolitical status affect ones wellbeing
and the opportunities they experience in life.
How Does Feminist Therapy Work?
Feminist therapy examines the role of the relationship in a womans life and
takes into consideration all the aspects of sexual bias in our male dominated
society. It values each woman and her relative experiences as authentic and
special. Oftentimes, this therapy works to explore the educational and
professional disparities between men and women. It allows women to be
liberated from personal barriers and to develop the skills to attain their
goals. Specifically, this specialized therapy assists women with issues
regarding relationships, career, reproductive concerns, body image, and any
history of physical or sexual abuse. A goal of feminist therapy is to empower
women to a higher level of functioning in todays society.
Feminist Therapist Framework
A feminist therapist understands that many women perceive their
environment through relationships and a sense of connectedness to those
around them, whereas many men see things in the context of competition
and power. Interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships are at the core of
many psychological challenges for women. A feminist therapist works with a
client to help her recognize the dysfunctions within these relationships and
helps her to develop tactics to overcome the past experiences and manage
any subsequent conflicting relationship issues.
Goals of Feminist therapy

During therapy the counselor will work with the client and focus on
eliminating the vulnerability that may stem from gender roles. Therapists will
acknowledge ethnicity, class or sexual orientation. The purpose of Feminist
Therapy is helping the individual eliminate their thoughts and feelings on
gender standard and encourage them to explore or create their own identity.
When an effective relationships been created between the counselor and
patient there is also a greater understanding which builds trust and allows
for progressive change.
The goals of feminist therapy is that the client will become aware of ones
gender role socialization process, to identify internalized gender role
messages and replace them with functional beliefs, to acquire skills to bring
about change in the environment, to develop a wide range of behaviours
that are freely chosen and to become personally powered. The main themes
are exploring anxiety and defenses, understanding control and power issues,
examining external forced that influence behaviour, learning to accept
appropriate responsibility, exploring ones values and reflecting on the
meaning of life. It is important that the feminist therapist behave in an
egalitarian role. To do so they must be sensitive to the way that they might
abuse their power in a relationship, not diagnosing unnecessarily, not giving
interpretations or advice, not playing the aloof expert role, and using selfdisclosure to reduce power imbalances between the client and the therapist.
Techniques of Feminist Therapy
Techniques that are used by therapists include helping the client understand
the impact of gender roles in their lives, to provide clients with insight into
ways social issues affect their problems, to emphasize power differences
between men and women in society, to help clients recognize different kinds
of power that they possess and how they and others exercise their power.
DESCRIPTION & KEY CONCEPTS OF FEMINIST THERAPY
The key concepts of Feminist Therapy are listed below:

Problems are viewed on sociopolitical and cultural context

The client is the expert and knows what is best for her life

The client is educated about the therapy process

Traditional concepts of assessing psychological health may be

challenged

Individual change may best occur through social change

Clients are encouraged to take social action

GOALS OF FEMINIST THERAPY(Summary)

Equality

Independence

Empowerment

To become self nurturing

Value diversity

FOUR APPROACHES TO FEMINIST THERAPY

There are four main philosophies of feminists with differing goals in therapy
including socialist, radical, cultural, and liberal.

Socialist feminists emphasize their major goal of therapy is to

transform social relationships and institutions. These feminists pay
close attention to ways that work, family roles, and education that will
lead them where they want to be. They believe that solutions to
societys problems must include a consideration of class, race, and
other forms of discrimination.

Radical feminists focus on the need for change in men / women

relations and equalizing power in societal institutions such as women
working in jobs previously only held by men by using activism. These
feminists identify and question the many ways in which men dominate
their every aspect of life. In addition, they strive to increase womens
self awareness in regards to her sexuality and her desires and views for
having children. This term refers to the feminist movement that sprung
out of the civil rights and peace movements in 1967-1968. The reason
this group gets the radical label is that they view the oppression
of females as the most fundamental form of oppression, one that cuts
across boundaries of race, culture, and economic class.

Liberal feminists focus on helping women remove the barriers

presented by gender role socialization patterns. These feminists are
concerned with the removal of these barriers that prevent equal
opportunities for men and women. The major goals of therapy include
empowerment, dignity, self fulfillment, decision making, and equality
for women.

Cultural feminists emphasize the importance of the recognition that

women are devalued in society and how detrimental this is. These
feminists believe the solution to this dilemma can be helped by the
feminization of society so that all genders become more nurturing,
intuitive, and cooperative towards each other.

In the 1990s, new feminist theories have evolved such as postmodern,

women of color, lesbian, and global which is called the 3rd wave of feminism.
It is easy to see that there is no unified feminist theory and can be quite
confusing as explained below:

Postmodern feminists look at different traditional and feminist

approaches and address the reality of those models by proposing
multiple solutions instead of just one.

Women of Color feminists believe the theory should be broadened

to include them instead of being included in the experiences of White
women as their culture can be quite different.

Lesbian feminists share many ideals with Radical feminists such as

women be oppressed. They feel left out by heterosexual feminists who
do not understand how they feel discriminated against.

Global international feminists look at all the different ways in which

racism, sexism, economics, and social class affect women around the
world. These feminist try to understand how each countries cultural
differences and beliefs can affect a womans quality of life.

THEMES IN FEMINIST THERAPY

Understanding power & control issues

Examining external forces that influence behavior

Identifying messages received in growing up

Learning to accept appropriate responsibility

Exploring personal values/beliefs

Recognition that both women & men live in a gendered context & that
male gender roles can also be problematic

Parenting is not the sole responsibility of women