Feminist Therapy Chapter 12

Feminist Therapy
Chapter 12
Introduction
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Feminist therapy puts gender and power at the core of
the therapeutic process. It is built on the premise that it
is essential to consider the social and cultural context
that contributes to a person’s problems in order to
understand that person.
A central concept in feminist therapy is the
psychological oppression of women and the constraints
imposed by the sociopolitical status to which women
have been relegated.
History and Development
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Feminist therapy has developed in a grassroots manner,
responding to challenges and to the emerging needs of
women.
No single individual can be identified as the founder of
this approach, and its history is relatively brief.
Feminist therapy can be traced to the women’s
movement of the 1960’s, a time when women began
uniting their voices to express their dissatisfaction with
the limiting and confining nature of traditional female
roles.
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A profusion of research on gender bias emerged in the
1970’s, which helped further feminist therapy ideas, and
organizations began to foster the development of
feminist therapy.
 Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)
 American Psychological Association (APA)
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The 1980’s, were marked by efforts to define feminist
therapy as an entity in its own right, and individual
therapy was the most frequently practiced form of
feminist therapy work on the different voice of women
and the morality of care and the work of Miller and the
Stone Center scholars on the self-in-relation model of
women’s development were influential in the
development of a feminist personality theory.
This changed dramatically and became more diverse as
it focused increasingly on specific problems and issues
such as body image, abusive relationships, eating
disorders, and incest and sexual abuse, and the feminist
philosophies that guided the practice of therapy also
became more diverse.
Four Enduring Feminist Philosophies
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Described as the second wave of feminism
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Liberal feminists focus on helping individual women
overcome the limits and constraints of their
socialization patterns.
Cultural feminists believe oppression stems from society’s
devaluation of women’s strengths.
Radical feminists focus on the oppression of women that
is embedded in patriarchy and seek to change society
through activism.
Socialist feminists share with radical feminists the goal of
societal change.
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The third wave of feminism embraces diversity with its inclusion
of women of color, lesbians, and the postmodern and
constructivist viewpoints espoused by many in the most recent
generation of women.
Postmodern feminists provide a model for critiquing the value of
other traditional and feminist approaches, addressing the issue of
what constitutes reality and proposing multiple truths as
opposed to a single truth.
Women of color feminists believe it is essential that feminist theory
be broadened and made more inclusive.
Lesbian feminists share commonalities with many aspects of
radical feminism.
Global-international feminists take a worldwide perspective and seek
to understand the ways in which racism, sexism, economics, and
classism affect women in different countries.
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It is clear that there is no single, unified feminist
theory.
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Feminist therapists believe gender is central to
therapeutic practice, that understanding a client’s
problems requires adopting a sociocultural
perspective, and that empowerment of the
individual and societal changes are crucial goals
in therapy.
Key Concepts
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Six Characteristics of traditional theories that
reflect outdated assumptions about the role
gender plays in behavior:
Androcentric theory -uses male orientated constructs to
draw conclusions about human nature
 Gendercentric theories -propose two separate paths of
development for women and men.
 Ethnocentric theories -assume that the facts pertaining
to human development and interaction are similar
across races, cultures, and nations.
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Heterosexist theories -view a heterosexual
orientation as normative and desirable and
devalues same-sex relationships.
Intrapsychic orientation -attributes behavior to
intrapsychic causes, which often results in
blaming the victim.
Determinism -assumes that present personality
patterns and behavior are fixed at an early stage
of development.
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Gender-fair theories- explain differences in the behavior of
women and men in terms of socialization processes
rather than on the basis of our “true” natures.
Flexible-multicultural theory-uses concepts and strategies
that apply equally to both individuals and groups
regardless of age, race, culture, gender, ability, class, or
sexual orientation.
Interactionist theories-contain concepts sepcific to the
thinking, feeling, and behaving dimensions of human
experience and account for contextual and
environmental factors.
Life-span perspective- assumes that human development is
a lifelong process and that personality patterns and
behavioral changes can occur at any time rather than
being fixed during early childhood.
Feminist Perspective on Personality Development
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Feminist therapists emphasize that societal gender-role
expectations profoundly influence a person’s identity from the
moment of birth and become deeply ingrained in adult
personality.
Girls play with dolls, boys play with trucks
Psychological differences between men and women are due to
the fact that women are the primary caretakers who raise the kids
By identifying with mothers who sacrifice their own desires and
goals to serve the family, girls reduce their capacity for autonomy
and independence.
Boys model the aggressive, power-seeking nature of adult males
and thus reduce their capacity for the expression of empathy and
certain emotions.
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A woman’s sense of identity and self-concept develop in the
context of relationships. Many of the techniques of feminist
therapy foster mutuality, relational capacities, and growth in
connection.
Gender schema theory provides another perspective on the
development of women…the gender schema is an organized set
of mental associations people use to interpret what they see.
Engendered lives are used to describe beliefs that the gender is
the organizing principle in people’s lives.
Feminist therapists teach their clients that uncritical acceptance
of traditional roles can greatly restrict their range of freedom to
define the kind of person they want to be.
They can also experience mutual behavioral characteristics such
as accepting themselves as being both dependent and
independent at different times, being interdependent, giving to
others and being open to receiving, thinking, feeling, and being
tender and tough.
Principles of Feminist Psychology
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A number of feminist writers have articulated core principles
that form the foundation for the practice of feminist therapy.
These principles are interrelated and have a great deal of overlap.
The principles are:
The personal is political
Personal and social identities are interdependent
Definitions of distress and “mental illness” are reformulated
Feminist therapists use an integrated analysis of oppression
The counseling relationship is egalitarian
Women’s perspectives are valued
The Therapeutic Process
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Therapeutic Goals:
5 goals for feminist therapy have been proposed-equality,
balancing independence and interdependence, empowerment,
self-nurturance, and valuing diversity.
The ultimate goal of feminist therapy is to create the kind of
society where sexism and other forms of discrimination and
oppression are no longer a reality. The therapist strives for
transformation, for both the client and society as a whole.
Individual level: is to help women and men recognize, claim, and
embrace their personal power. Through the empowerment,
clients are able to free themselves from the constraints of their
gender-role socialization and to challenge ongoing institutional
oppression.
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Feminist therapists help clients to depathologize
women’s experiencing and to change society so
that women’s voices are honored and women’s
relational qualities are valued.
Therapist’s Function and Role
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Therapists use gender and power analyses to understand clients
and their concerns, and they are committed to monitoring their
own biases and distortions, especially the social and cultural
dimensions of women’s experiences.
Feminists share common ground with existential therapists who
emphasize therapy as a shared journey.
Also share beliefs with person-centered therapists such as
trusting the client’s ability to move forward in a positive and
constructive manner.
Also believe the process should be nonhierarchical, person-toperson relationship, and aim to empower clients to live according
to their own values and to rely on an internal locus of control in
determining what is right for them.
Client’s Experience in Therapy
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Clients are active participants in the therapeutic process.
Therapists are committed to ensuring that this doesn’t become
another arena in which women remain passive and dependent. It
is important to give voice to their experiencing.
Clients realize they are really understood, they begin to get in
tough with a range of feelings including anger, and other
“prohibited” emotions that they may have learned to deny
themselves.
Therapists do not restrict their practice to women clients; they
also work with men, couples, families, and children.
The therapeutic relationship is a partnership, and the client will
be the expert in determining what he needs and wants from
therapy.
Major goal: is empowerment, which requires a sense of selfacceptance, self-confidence, joy and authenticity.
Relationship Between Therapist and Client
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The structure of the client-therapist relationship models how to
identify and use power responsibility. Therapists clearly state
their values to reduce the chance of value imposition.
First: are acutely sensitive to ways they might abuse their own
power in the relationship, such as by diagnosing unnecessarily, by
interpreting or giving advice, by staying aloof behind and
“expert” role, or by discounting the impact the power imbalance
between therapist and client has on the relationship.
Second: therapists actively focus on the power clients have in the
therapeutic relationship.
Third: feminist therapists work to demystify the counseling
relationship.
Application: Therapeutic Techniques and
Procedures
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Many feminist therapists do not use diagnostic labels, or they use
them reluctantly.
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Feminist therapists believe diagnostic labels are severely limiting
for these reasons:
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They focus on the individual’s symptoms and not the social factors that
cause dysfunctional behavior
May represent an instrument of oppression
They may reinforce gender-role stereotypes and encourage adjustment to
the norms of status quo
May reflect the inappropriate application of power in the therapeutic
relationship
Can lead to an overemphasis on individual solutions rather than social
change
Have the potential to reduce one’s respect for clients
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Feminist therapists believe women have many more reasons to
experience depression than men, and they often frame
depression as a normative experience for women. Women are
often financially disadvantaged or dependent, relationally
submissive, and strive to please others by anticipating their needs.
Depression may result from women’s internalized perception,
belief, and experience of not being in control of their lives or
bodies and feeling less valuable than men.
An alternative form of assessment preferred by feminist
therapists is gender-role analysis, which involves a cooperative
exploration by client and therapist of the impact of gender on
the client’s distress.
Techniques and Strategies
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Feminist therapists have developed several techniques;
particularly important are consciousness-raising techniques that
help women differentiate between what they have been taught is
socially acceptable of desirable and what is actually healthy for
them. Techniques include:
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Empowerment: getting the most from each session, clear expectations,
identifying goals, and working toward a contract that will guide the
process
Self-disclosure: is not just sharing information and experiences. Also
involves a certain quality of presence the therapist brings to the sessions
Gender-role Analysis: explores the impact of expectations on the client’s
well being or distress and draws upon this information to make decision
about future gender-role behaviors.
Gender-role Intervention: placing it in context of society’s role
expectations for women. The aim is to provide insight into the ways that
social issues are affecting the problem.
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Power Analysis and Power Intervention: becoming aware of the power
difference between men and women in society and empowering to take
charge of ones self and life. Also includes recognizing different kinds of
power that clients possess or to which they have access.
Bibliotherapy: Books that address the consequences of society’s
obsession with certain issues. Can explore and enhance therapy by
reactions to what they are reading.
Assertiveness Training: Become aware of their interpersonal rights,
transcend stereotypical gender roles, change negative beliefs, and
implement changes in their daily lives.
Reframing and Relabeling: Reframing implies a shift from “blaming the
victim” to a consideration of social factors in the environment that
contribute to a client’s problem. Relabeling is an intervention that changes
the label or evaluation applied to some behavioral characteristic.
Group Work: Group work alone is often the preferred modality for some
issues that women experience in out culture. Self help groups and
advocacy groups help women experience their connectedness and unity
with other women.
Social Action: Participation in activities can empower clients and help
them see the link between their personal experiences and the sociopolictal
context in which they live.
The Role of Men in Feminist Therapy
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Men can be nonsexist therapists
Men can be pro-feminist therapists when they embrace the
principles and incorporate the practices of feminism in their
work. This entails being willing to confront sexist behavior in
themselves and others, redefining masculinity and femininity
according to other than traditional values, working toward
establishing egalitarian relationships, and actively supporting
women’s efforts to create a just society.
Feminist Therapy from a Multicultural Perspective
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Feminist therapists suggest that multicultural counseling refers to
the analysis of social structures affecting mental health, including
sexism, racism, and other levels of both oppression and
privilege.
The use of power in relationships has application for
understanding power inequities due to racial and cultural factors.
Culturally competent feminist therapists look for ways to work
within the client’s culture by exploring consequences and
alternatives. They appreciate the complexities involved in
changing within one’s culture but do not view culture as
sacrosanct.
Limitations for Multicultural Counseling
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The therapists job is not to take away any of the
pain or struggle, nor to choose for the client, but
to be present in such a way that the client will
truly be empowered to decide for him/herself.
The core value of equality in feminist therapy
may limit the effectiveness of the therapist in
working with clients from culturally different
backgrounds.
Summary and Evaluation
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Each of the eight basic philosophies underlying feminist
practice-liberal, cultural, radical, socialist, postmodernist, women
of color, lesbian, and global-international-has a different view on
the sources of oppression and what is needed to bring about
substantial social transformation.
Feminist share a number of basic assumptions and roles: they
engage in appropriate self-disclosure; they make their values and
beliefs explicit so that the therapy process is clearly understood;
they establish egalitarian roles with clients; they work toward
client empowerment; and they emphasize the commonalities
among women while honoring their diverse life experiences.
Contributions of Feminist Therapy
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They are paving the way for gender-sensitive practice and an
awareness of the impact of the cultural context and multiple
oppressions.
With a feminist orientation understand how important it is to
become fully aware of typical gender-role messages clients have
grown up with, and they are skilled in helping clients identify and
challenge these messages.
The proper focus of therapy includes working to change
oppressive factors in society rather than expecting individuals to
merely adapt to expected role behaviors.
Feminist therapy principles have been applied to supervision,
teaching, consultation, ethics, research, and theory building as
well as to the practice of psychotherapy.
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Gestalt therapy and feminist therapy share the goal of increasing
the client’s awareness of personal power.
Cognitive behavioral therapies and feminist therapy are
compatible in that they view the therapeutic relationship as a
collaboration and the client as being in charge of setting goals
and selecting strategies for change.
Feminist therapy suggests that a counseling theory should be
gender-fair, flexible-multicultural, interactionist, and life-spanorientated. A feminist therapy approach can contribute to
broadening the theoretical base of other therapy models as well
as enriching all of our lives by encouraging positive social
activism in our communities and throughout the world.
Limitations and Criticisms of Feminist Therapy
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Feminist therapists do not take a neutral stance. They advocate
definite change in the social structure, especially in the area of
equality, power in relationships, the right to self-determination,
freedom to pursue a career outside the home, and the right to an
education.
Feminist therapists should challenge clients’ unexamined choices,
but most contemporary feminists honor clients’ choices as long
as those choices are indeed informed ones.
Feminist therapists need to be cautious to avoid imposing their
values on their clients, even in subtle ways.
Some disagreement as to whether feminist therapy is a
philosophical orientation or a theory.
Feminist therapy was developed by White, middle-class,
heterosexual women. In the 1980’s they acknowledged that they
had overlooked women of color and assumed that rave was nto
as crucial as gender in understanding oppression.