Feminist Therapy

Feminist Therapy emerged from the Feminist Movement of the 1960s.

 

Overview of Feminist Therapy: "While traditional therapeutic approaches can and are helpful, feminist therapy is distinct in its addressing the role of gender in psychological distress. Gender is a reality that shapes our behavior. Our world is organized through its influence. Feminist therapy recognizes that environmental pressures affect a woman's identity. Women live in a world dominated by males and masculine patterns of thought and behavior, or the patriarchy.

 

Until recently, studies of human behavior were almost always conducted by and on men. So men's ways of being often were -- and are -- used to describe women as well as men and therapy techniques useful for men are applied to women equally. Feminists argue that men and women are not the same and, indeed, have developed from early childhood in different ways. Men tend to view the world in terms of power and competition, or in a hierarchy. Women, on the other hand, view the world through relationship and connection to others. So most psychological theories and the therapy techniques derived from them may not fit women very well.

 

Feminist therapy, on the other hand, recognizes the central place relationship and connections hold in women's lives. It considers the nature of sex-bias in a male-dominated culture. It honors women's experiences as valid and unique. Focusing on the damaging effects of gender-role socialization, it seeks to address the inequalities in educational and career opportunities. Feminist therapy also helps women overcome barriers they experience in achieving their personal goals and assists them in recognizing and reaching their full potential. It specifically addresses such questions as family and marriage relationships, reproductive concerns, career issues, the role of violence and fear in their lives, physical and sexual abuse, body image and eating disorders, and self-esteem. Most of all, feminist therapy seeks to empower women in today's world."  ~ Excerpt from Self Help Magazine

 

Resources Related to Feminist Therapy:

  

Wikipedia's Page about Feminist Therapy

Therapist4me - Women's issues and feminist therapy

AHPWeb - A brief overview of Feminist Therapy and a recommended book list

Feminist Therapy Institute

 

Books Related to Feminist Therapy:

 

   

 


Feminist Therapy Article Summaries

Feminist Therapy Issues

Theory and Techniques of Feminist Therapy

Written by Elizabeth Mahaney, MA, MHC, MFT Abstract Feminist Therapy focuses on empowering women and helping them discover how to break the stereotypes and molds of some traditional roles that women play that may be blocking their development and growth. This type of therapy grew out of influences of the women’s movement of the late 1960’s. Feminist therapy tends to be more focused on strengthening women in areas such as assertiveness, communication, relationships, and self esteem. One of the main goals of feminist therapists is to develop equal mutual relationships of caring and support. The therapist believes that her client is the only “expert” ... Read the rest of this entry »

Taking the Encouragement to Move Forward!

By De Juana J. Smith-Gatling, MDIV, MS, How often do we seem to find ourselves struggling with difficult places that stiffen our growth? When one is struggling with these difficult places, it is easy to throw in the towel and call defeat or to blame the defeat on others. What about when it is more fruitful to tackle these difficult places so that we can have a more abundant life? One must tap into that inner strength and vision to begin the process of renewal. One must reclaim self and redefine self, but this also requires self discovery and the ability to deal with what ... Read the rest of this entry »

Please add your comments about Feminist Therapy - (click here to add a comment)

  • Therapist Columbia 2007-11-09 08:37:08

    I am doing masters in counseling and I found your article packed with with salient issues our men and women are grappling with in my Afircan communities of Botswana and Lesotho. I am mosotho studying in Botswana and seriously concerned that passion killings (men mercilessly murdering thier spouses or girlfriends when they indicate-sometimes without any sign-desire to break free from abuse relationships) is becoming increasingly common in Botswana. What is worrying is that Basotho seem to be catching up. However, your article was resfreshing in insight and inspiration and literature for me as I strive to develop strategies and approaches and motivations to redress the situation in my immediate communities. Indeed the theory is suitable for both men and women and I simply found it enriching. I would love to read and learn more from you. Keep it up.

  • DESTINY 2009-03-17 14:25:53

    Thanks for posting this info. It was just what I was looking for.

  • John 2009-07-20 01:48:56

    Yea, very well said. Nice discussion going on, i will keep visiting this section to keep myself up to date. Cheers

  • musrat 2009-12-15 00:39:26

    feminist therapy is very good therapy for women

  • Steve H 2008-04-03 02:54:10

    I think this is a great development in the world of therapy. I will be very interested to see what sorts of theories come out of this school's approach and how this changes many methods in therapeutic counsling which are currently touted.

  • Margo 2008-04-03 02:55:31

    Do you think that there will be women who are offended at this new analysis being used? Like we are so completely different in our behavior that people had to develop a whole new way of dealing with that?

  • Jeanette 2008-04-03 02:58:03

    I actually do think there are those who will be offended but you will find that no matter what you are researching. I think that the advent of feminist therapy may be a wonderful new tool for therapists to use with their patients and will help them deal more hands on with the issues which more readily affect the lives of women. I am excited to see where this will lead and how both women and men in the psychatric care realm will use this method to interact with and hopefully help change the lives of their female patients for the better.

  • sandra 2008-04-03 14:54:18

    Do you think that the introduction of feminist therapy will lead to a greater interaction between those in the therapy field and other medical professionals, such as ob-gyns who handle more of the physical aspects of women's healthcare needs? Seems this would definitely open those lines of communication.

  • Austin 2008-04-09 14:18:39

    And what about the guys? When do we get treatment aimed specifically at males? I know all the women will say that most of it is targeted at men but I do not believe that is true. I kinda think this is just a crock you know? We are not all that different in the head.

  • Donna 2008-04-11 10:38:28

    Are you kidding? Everything has been so man-centric forever! It is finally time for the focus to be on the wome even if it is in the world of therapy. Men and women have totally different issues many times and need to be handled differenbtly.

  • maddie 2008-04-21 03:53:17

    As much as it pains me to say this I do think that the whole theory of feminist therapy may be overblown. When peoplpe have problems they have problems, and there does not have to necessarily be a "male" way and a "female" way to help fix things. There are many paths to recovery no matter your gender.

  • runninfast 2008-04-30 07:16:09

    I actually think this is a perfect answer. There are many therapeutic instances which are going to apply very well to the female patient and not the male and vice versa. Men and women are different. . . period. They deserve the treatment style which is best going to meet their specific needs.

  • Kyle 2008-04-30 07:16:59

    Are there therapists out there which are going to ascribe only to this sort of treatment style? How would you locate one?

  • redmond 2010-03-02 09:40:07

    a bad patch or situation or experience is not because you are doomed forever, it is only to teach you to be more careful and to perform better in the future.negative thinking does come along with a bad situation but this is where the battle is won or lost.we must try and get rid of negative thoughts at such a time and should focus on trying to get out of that dark patch as soon as we can.

  • RON 2010-03-01 18:52:48

    A wonderful way to explain about a very practical thing indeed! There is not a single person in this world who has not felt this way, of having lost something at least once in his/her lifetime... each one of us feels this from time to time. While some of us move on after such an experience, some others get bogged down and cause even more damage to themselves unknowingly. this is a wonderful way to cheer such people up and convince them to look forward to life with a renewed zeal.

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