Feminist Therapy

              

                             Jean Baker Miller 1928-2006                    Carol Zerbe Enns

             

                                               Oliva M. Espin                        Laura S. Brown
Feminist Therapy

• Founders- Jean Baker Miller, Carol Zerbe Enns, Oliva M. Espin, and Laura S. Brown (Corey, 2012).   
• Key concepts- view of human nature, feminist perspective on personality development, and principles of feminist therapy (Corey, 2012). 

1. View of human nature- feminist is different than most other therapies because it was thought that most therapies came from historical period in which most social arrangements in which were assumed to be rooted in a person's biologically based gender (Corey, 2012). Men have always been perceived to be the norm up until recently and men and women would always choose different things and paths in life. Men and women behave differently in life so therefore their actions and reactions to thing will be very different. Most therapist consider feminist therapy to be gender fair and flexible-multicultural (Corey, 2012). 
2. Feminist perspective on personality development- gender-role expectations greatly influence a person's identity from throughout rest of their life and also influences personality as an adult (Corey, 2012). Gender affects how we see ourselves whether it be boy or girl throughout our entire lives (Corey, 2012). It is still shown throughout many cultures throughout the world that the gender stereotypes of women are still common. Men are still looked at to be the dominant gender in the society we live in even still today but less common than it was few years ago. Personal development for man and women start at birth and go throughout entire life. 
3. Principles of feminist therapy- there are six core principles in feminist therapy: the personal is political, commitment to social change, women's and girl's voices and ways of knowing are valued and their experiences are honored, the counseling relationship is egalitarian, a focus on strengths and a reformulated definition of psychological distress, and all types of oppression are recognized (Corey, 2012). 1. the personal is political- this is the idea that a problem that a person will bring to a therapy session starts with political or society in which that are in. 2. commitment to social change- this is the concept of where a therapist aims to change not only the individual but also for social changes also (Corey, 2012). It is very important when counseling a female client to recognize that they are still stereotyped and that this can play a role in what and how a therapist will approach a female client. 3. women's and girl's voices and ways of knowing are valued and their experiences- this concept says that a female's perspective is considered central in understanding their distress (Corey, 2012). It also explains that in all situations in life men and women are forced to go separate ways in almost all aspects of human experiences in society. 4. the counseling relationship in egalitarian- attention is power in feminist therapy (Corey, 2012). An egalitarian relationship which is the concept as a therapist to remember that the client are more of an expert on their own lives so a therapist to recognize the power imbalance. 5. a focus on strengths and a reformulated definition of psychological distress- this concept says that psychological distress is nit a disease but a communication about unjust system (Corey, 2012). Feminist therapist most often talk about problems with the attitude of dealing with them rather than them being a pathology. 6. all types of oppression are recognized- clients are often understood better with having a knowledge of their social environment and what it is like. It is thought that both a person's political and social environment has a negative effect on a client. 

• Therapeutic goals- Some of the main goals in feminist therapy include empowerment, going for change rather than adjusting to what the problem is, social change, valuing diversity, and knowing and keeping independence and interdependence separated (Corey, 2012). It is very important in feminist therapy to help both male and female clients recognize their personal power. Feminist therapist work especially with female clients to help them get away from the stereotype that they have been use to their entire life.
• Techniques- feminist therapist do not follow the DSM manual. The feminist therapist do think that race, culture, and gender influences symptoms a client may have (Corey, 2012). Making sure different approaches are used based on what gender you are giving counseling to. Often times depression is diagnosed in females more than males but feminist therapist believe this is because women have more reasons to be depressed then males. Feminist therapist do not use a specific set of techniques but use client specific techniques depending on each client's needs. 

References

Corey, G. (2012). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9th edition). Belmont, CA

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