Feminist Therapy

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Feminist Therapy

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Questions?

• What are the differences in terms of gender-role
  socialization for this couple?
• As a woman or as a man, what kind of messages do
  you receive from people?
• How do these gender-role expectations impact you
  as a therapist?

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Key Concepts

• Problems are viewed in a sociopolitical and
  cultural context
• The client is the expert in her/his own life
• Challenge traditional ways of assessing
  psychological health
• It is assumed that changes in individuals will
  best occur through social change
• Clients are encouraged to take social actions

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View of Human Nature

• Gender-fair
• Differences between women and men are due to
  socialization processes
• Flexible-multicultural
• Apply equally to both individuals and groups
  regardless of age, race, culture, gender, class,
  sexual orientation, and ability.
• Interactionist
• Consider contextual and environmental factors
• Life-span-oriented
• Human development is a lifelong process and
  change can occur at any time

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Goals of Feminist Therapy

• Be aware of their gender-role socialization
  process
• Identify negative internalized messages and
  replace them with self-enhancing beliefs
• Understand how sexism and oppression influence
  them in a negative way
• Help women define themselves instead of defined
  by societal standards (e.g., body image)

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Goals of Feminist Therapy

• Help women free from the impact of gender-role
  expectations
• Men and women are equal
• Balance self-nurturance and relationship
• Empowering clients
• Take actions to change society

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Therapists function and Role

• Use gender and power analyses to understand
  clients and their concerns
• monitor their own biases
• Commit to understanding oppression and its
  impacts
• Value being emotionally present for their
  clients, sharing their experiences, and modeling
  proactive behaviors
• Use techniques from other approaches
• Hold beliefs in common with humanistic and
  person-centered approach

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Therapeutic Relationship

• Therapeutic relationship is not sufficient
• Therapeutic relationship is empowering and
  egalitarian
• Model how to identify and use power
• Use self-disclosure to reduce the power
  differential
• Honor clients experiences
• Include clients in the assessment and treatment
  process

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Intervention Techniques

• Gender-role analysis
• To help clients understand the impact of
  gender-role expectations in their lives
• Gender-role intervention
• Provides clients with insight into ways on how
  social issues affect their problems

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Intervention Techniques

• Power analysis
• Emphasize on the power differences between men
  and women in society
• Power intervention
• Help clients appreciate themselves as they are
  and gain self-confidence

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Intervention Techniques

• Self-disclosure
• Use therapeutic self-disclosure to equalize the
  therapeutic relationship, normalize experience,
  or provide modeling for the client
• Bibliotherapy
• Self-help books, videos, or films can be used as
  bibliotherapy resources.
• To increase clients expertise and decrease power
  differential between the therapist and the client
  

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Intervention Techniques

• Reframing
• A shift from blaming oneself to looking at
  society for an explanation.
• Re-labeling
• Changes the label or evaluation applied to the
  client's behavioral characteristics
• Re-labeling depression as reactions to external
  standard instead of being unattractive

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Intervention Techniques

• Assertiveness training
• Increase womens awareness of their interpersonal
  rights
• Assertiveness refers to standing up for ones
  right without violating others rights.

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Research on Feminist Therapy

• Very little research
• Feminist group therapy (Johnson, 1976)
• group cohesiveness, interpersonal learning, and
  finding that the therapist is a competent woman
  are considered the most helpful factors in
  improvement
• Research indicated that women in feminist therapy
  are more likely to
• have radical political views
• identify themselves as members of the womens
  movement
• Research indicated that therapists in feminist
  therapy are more likely to
• use self-disclosure
• create an egalitarian relationship

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Summary Evaluation-contribution

• Have the most in common with multicultural
  perspectives
• Direct actions for social change
• Recognize sexism, racism, and other forms of
  oppression
• Pay attentions to gender-role socialization,
  power issues in relationship, and external
  environmental factors.
• The principles and techniques of feminist therapy
  can be incorporated into other therapy models

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Summary Evaluation--limitations

• Avoid imposing their values on their clients
• Focus on contextual or environmental factors and
  move away from exploring the inner factors (both
  a strength and a limitation)
• Is it a theory?---this is a debatable question
• Developed by White, middle-class, heterosexual
  women---therefore it may be biased