Feminist therapy focuses on the roles of gender and power in the therapeutic process, emphasizing the social and cultural contexts that contribute to an individual's problems. It has evolved from the women's movement of the 1960s and comprises four main approaches: liberal, cultural, radical, and socialist feminism, each with distinct goals for societal change. Key techniques include empowerment, gender-role analysis, and assertiveness training, with recognition of the importance of nonsexist practices by male therapists.

1. Reported by:
Rheggine B. San Juan
Joselle S. Sadiang – Abay
Mc Niel P. Alcantara

2. Introduction
• 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.

3. • 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.

4. History and Development
• 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.

5.  To become aware of one’s 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 behaviors that are
freely chosen.
 To become personally empowered.
Goals of Feminist Therapy

6.  Androcentric – used male-oriented construction
to draw conclusions about human nature.
Gendrocentric – proposes separate development
paths for women & men.
 Ethocentric – assumes that human development
& interaction are similar across races, culture &
nation.
Worell & Remar (2003) describe 6 characteristics of traditional theories
that are outdated and contain biased elements:

7. Worell & Remar (2003) describe 6 characteristics of traditional theories that
are outdated and contain biased elements:
 Hetrerosexis – views heterosexual orientation
as normative, same-sex as abnormal.
 Intrapsychic – attributes behavior to
interpsychi causes; often result in blaming the
victim.
 Determinism – assumes present personality
patterns & behavior are fixed at early
development stage.

8. Worell & Remar (2003) describe the constructs of
feminist theory as being
 Gender-fair - Explain diff. in behavior of
women & men in terms of socialization processes
(rather than ‘true’ nature)
Flexible-multicultural - Uses concepts/strategies
that apply equally to both individuals & groups
regardless of age, race, culture, gender, ability,
class, or sexual orientation.

9. Worell & Remar (2003) describe the constructs of
feminist theory as being
Interactionist - Contains concepts specific to
thinking, feeling, & behaving dimensions of
human experience & account for contextual &
environmental factors.
Life-span-oriented - Assumes that human
development is a lifelong process & that
personality patterns & behavioral changes can
occur at any time than being fixed during early
childhood.

10. Four Approaches to
Feminist Therapy
1. Liberal Feminism
– Focus
• Helping individual women overcome the limits and
constraints of their socialization patterns.
–Major goals
• Personal empowerment of individual women
• Dignity
• Self - fulfilment
• Equality
• All the above possible with bias-free work & social
environments

11. Four Approaches to
Feminist Therapy
2. Cultural Feminism
– Oppression stems from society’s devaluation of
women’s strengths.
– Emphasize the differences between women and men.
– Believe the solution to oppression lies in feminization
of the culture.
• Society becomes more nurturing, cooperative, and
relational.
– Major goal of therapy is the infusion of society with
values based on cooperation.

12. Four Approaches to
Feminist Therapy
3. Radical Feminism
– Focus
• The oppression of women that is embedded in
patriarchy
• Seek to change society through activism
• Therapy is viewed as a political enterprise with the
goal of transformation of society
– Major goals
• Transform gender relationships
• Transform societal institutions
• Increase women’s sexual and procreative self-
determination

13. Four Approaches to
Feminist Therapy
4. Socialist Feminism
– Also have goal of societal change
– Emphasis on multiple oppressions
– Believe solutions to society’s problems must include
consideration of:
• Class
• Race
• Other forms of discrimination
– Major goal of therapy is to transform social
relationships and institutions.

14. Techniques and Strategies
 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.

15. Techniques and Strategies
• 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.
•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.

16. Techniques and Strategies
• 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.
• Assertiveness Training: Become aware of their
interpersonal rights, transcend stereotypical gender roles,
change negative beliefs, and implement changes in their
daily lives.
• 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.

17. Techniques and Strategies
• Social Action: Participation in activities can empower clients
and help them see the link between their personal experiences
and the socio-political context in which they live.
• Reframing : Reframing implies a shift from “blaming the
victim” to a consideration of social factors in the environment
that contribute to a client’s problem. Shifting from an
interpersonal to an interpersonal definition of a client’s
problem.
• Relabeling : Relabeling is an intervention that changes the
label or evaluation applied to some behavioral characteristic.
Generally, the focus is shifted from a negative to a positive
evaluation.

18. • 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.
The Role of Men in Feminist Therapy

19. Contribution
Feminist therapy recognizes role of oppressive
environmental forces on individuals.
 Both feminist & multicultural therapists work
to encourage change & not adjustment to status
quo.
Feminist perspective of understanding use of
power in relationships has applications for
understanding inequalities due to racial &
cultural factors as well.

21. Reference
Psychology 460 Counseling & Interviewing, Sheila K. Grant,
Ph.D., California State University, Northridge
Website
http://www.powershow.com/view/3bc863-
ZGY0N/Feminist_Therapy_Chapter_12_addressing_the_issue
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