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FEMINIST THERAPY:Changes targeted at societal level

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Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)
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Lesson 44
FEMINIST THERAPY
Feminist therapy is guided by the principles of feminist psychology. The problem is not looked at as merely
intrapsychic or interpersonal. The cultural factors operating, the socialization process, the social context and
the political perspective, all are taken into consideration.
The definition of distress, pain, and "mental illness" plays an important role. The therapeutic process, in any
type of psychotherapy, depends upon how the therapist understands "mental illness", or distress for which the
client seeks help. For a therapist with a feminist approach, only a part of distress can be understood in terms
of intrapsychic or interpersonal factors. In simpler terms, unlike many other approaches, the feminist therapist
does not treat the client as solely responsible for own distress. Psychological distress is understood as a
communication about the systems that are not just; similarly pain is an expression and proof of resistance, and
the skill and will to survive (Worell and Johnson, 1997). And when a person is resisting, it indicates the
person's ability to remain alive and powerful n the presence of oppression (Brown, 1994). Considering the
basic premises of feminist psychology, one can understand what will be the goals of feminist therapy.
What does feminist therapy aim to achieve?
Feminist therapy is not restricted to females alone, whether clients or therapists. Feminist therapists can be
males as well as females. Similarly the clients are not restricted to the female gender alone. Clients may be
women, men, children, families or couples.
"The primary goal of feminist therapy is transformation, for both the individual client, and society as a whole".
"The major goal of feminist therapy is empowerment, which involves acquiring a sense of self acceptance, self-
confidence, joy, and self-actualization" (Herlihy and Corey, 2001).
Changes targeted at individual level:
The main goal is transcendence, not adjustment. At individual level personal empowerment is the goal.
Personal power is what is worked upon. The clients are helped in three things pertaining to personal power:
a) Recognizing personal power
b) Claiming personal power
c) Embracing personal power
When the clients recognize, claim and embrace personal power, they can realize the impact of the constraints
they had been subjected to as a result of gender role socialization. Personal power not only promises freedom
from these constraints, but also helps the person to think about and consider and opt for other alternatives,
and other options of leading their lives. The person should learn to live as an "individual" and not as a `men' or
a `women'. Societies have fixed, unrealistic, and too demanding gender- related expectations from people.
Clients are helped in attaining self confidence, interdependence, resilience, and trust for self and others. Clients
are also assisted in identifying their true potential, in getting rid of over-concern with body and appearance, and
developing new and healthy perceptions of self.
Changes targeted at societal level:
Feminist therapy gives importance to the person-society relationship. All societies are patriarchal and sexist.
When persons attain personal power, a change in the society also takes place. Feminist therapy has the goal of
replacing current patriarchy with a feminist consciousness (Herlihy and Corey, 2001).
Rather than being sexist, patriarchal, or gender imbalanced, the society should be encouraging relationships that
depend on each other (interdependent), that involve cooperation rather than one gender in the helping and the
other in the "helped" position. The relationships should be mutually supportive.
It can be said that feminist therapy aims to develop and maintain gender equality at individual-societal, as well
as client-therapist level.
The task of the therapist:
The feminist therapist helps and assists the clients in adopting new ways of thinking and perceiving. It is similar
in approach to cognitive therapies, in the sense that it focuses upon the manner in which one perceives one's
self. However, the target areas/cognitions in case of feminist therapy are related to: gender roles; the thinking,
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Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)
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affect and behavior patterns, resulting from socialization, and; one's self concept and perception of self-
appearance resulting form societal expectations, learning and the gender images promoted by media.
The feminist therapists, according to Worell and Remer (1992) help the clients in the following:
 "Become aware of their own gender role socialization process
 Identify their internalized gender role messages and replace them with their own constructive beliefs
 Understand how sexist and oppressive societal beliefs and practices influence them in negative ways
 Acquire skills to bring about change in the environment
 Develop a wide range of behaviors that are freely chosen" (Herlihy and Corey, 2001).
Specific counseling goals pertaining to women:
Worell and Remer (1992) have also described specific counseling goals that the therapist attempts to attain in
efforts to:
 "Help women and men to trust their own experience an their intuition
 Enable clients to appreciate female-related values
 Assist women in taking care of themselves
 Help women accept and like their own bodies
 Define and act in accordance with their own sexual needs rather than another's sexual needs" (Henlihy
and Corey, 2001).
The clients' experience in the Therapeutic Process:
The feminist therapist may have the background and belief in any of the theoretical perspectives. This may
affect the way the therapeutic process is carried out. However the main goals and targets remain the same.
What the client undergoes and experiences during therapy may vary from client to client, and from problem to
problem. There is a likelihood that the clients may be dealing with the following themes:
 "Exploring anxiety and defenses
 Understanding power and control issues
 Examining external forces that influence behavior
 Identifying messages received in growing up
 Learning to accept appropriate responsibility
 Critically examining social dictates and expectations
 Exploring one' values
 Reflecting on the meaning of life (Herlihy and Corey, 2001).
Therapeutic Techniques
Although the feminist therapists may use, like any other psychotherapist, a variety of traditional and non-
traditional intervention, certain techniques are more likely to be used (Sharf, 2000; Worell and Remer 1992;
Enns, 1993).
Gender Role Analysis:
The client is helped in understanding the impact of gender-role expectations in her/his life.
Gender Role Intervention:
Placing the client's problem in the context of society's role expectations for women; helping the client see how
social issues affect her problem.
Power Analysis and power Intervention
Helping the client recognize the power difference between men and women. Empowering the client to take
charge of herself and her life; getting prepared for taking responsibility for making decisions for one's life.
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1. Bibliotherapy
Encouraging the client and providing her reading materials, to read about various aspects of her problem. The
reading material may include fiction as well as non-fiction. For example a client may be recommended to read
about how the media in particular, and the society in general, promote over- concern with women's growing
age or thinness.
2. Self Disclosure
The therapist relates her/his personal experiences and makes the client realize that the therapist is also
someone like the client, and has undergone similar experiences.
3. Assertiveness Training
The ability to take charge of life, feeling of self confidence, and the courage to say `No' when one wants to say
`No' is developed and encouraged.
Besides these interventions, reframing and re-labeling, group work, and social action are also used.
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION:Common misconception, Some questions to ponder
  2. FEMINIST MOVEMENT:Forms or Varieties of Feminism, First wave feminists
  3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:Functionalism, Psychoanalytic Psychology:
  4. Gender- related Research:Andocentricity, Overgeneralizing, Gender Blindness
  5. RESEARCH METHODS FOR GENDER ISSUES:The Procedure of Content Analysis
  6. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:Limitations Of Quantitative Research
  7. BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GENDERSHormones and Chromosomes
  8. BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GENDERS: HORMONES AND NERVOUS SYSTEM
  9. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT:The Biological Approach,
  10. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (2):The Behavioral Approach
  11. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (3):The Cognitive Approach
  12. THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (3):Psychoanalytic Feminism
  13. OTHER APPROACHES:The Humanistic Approach, Cultural Influences
  14. GENDER TYPING AND STEREOTYPING:Development of sex-typing
  15. GENDER STEREOTYPES:Some commonly held Gender Stereotypes
  16. Developmental Stages of Gender Stereotypes:Psychoanalytic Approach, Hostile sexism
  17. CULTURAL INFLUENCE & GENDER ROLES:Arapesh, Mundugumor
  18. DEVELOPMENT OF GENDER ROLE IDENTIFICATION:Gender Role Preference
  19. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY:GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BULLYING
  20. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERSONALITY:GENDER, AFFILIATION AND FRIENDSHIP
  21. COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES:Gender Differences in I.Q, Gender and Verbal Ability
  22. GENDER AND MEDIA:Print Media and Portrayal of Genders
  23. GENDER AND EMOTION:The components of Emotions
  24. GENDER, EMOTION, & MOTIVATION:Affiliation, Love, Jealousy
  25. GENDER AND EDUCATION:Impact of Educational Deprivation
  26. GENDER, WORK AND WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT:Informal Work
  27. GENDER, WORK AND WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT (2):Glass-Ceiling Effect
  28. GENDER, WORK & RELATED ISSUES:Sexual Harassment at Workplace
  29. GENDER AND VIOLENCE:Domestic Violence, Patriarchal terrorism
  30. GENDER AND HEALTH:The Significance of Women’s Health
  31. GENDER, HEALTH, AND AGING:Genetic Protection, Behavioral Factors
  32. GENDER, HEALTH, AND AGING:Physiological /Biological Effects, Changes in Appearance
  33. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN AGING:Marriage and Loneliness, Empty Nest Syndrome
  34. GENDER AND HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIORS:Fitness and Exercise
  35. GENDER AND HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIOR:The Classic Alameda County Study
  36. GENDER AND HEART DISEASE:Angina Pectoris, The Risk factors in CHD
  37. GENDER AND CANCER:The Trend of Mortality Rates from Cancer
  38. GENDER AND HIV/AIDS:Symptoms of AIDS, Mode of Transmission
  39. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH FEMALES’ REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
  40. OBESITY AND WEIGHT CONTROL:Consequences of Obesity, Eating Disorders
  41. GENDER AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:Gender, Stress and Coping
  42. GENDER AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:The Diagnostic Criteria
  43. GENDER AND PSYCHOTHERAPY:Traditional Versus Feminist Theory
  44. FEMINIST THERAPY:Changes targeted at societal level
  45. COURSE REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF NEW AVENUES FOR RESEARCH IN GENDER ISSUES