MOVIE QUESTIONS ANALYSIS
Chapter 12
Feminist Therapy
Copyright © 2021 Cengage
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Introduction
Feminist counseling is essential to consider the social, cultural, and political context that contributes to a person’s problems in order to understand that person.
Feminist psychotherapy is a philosophical orientation that lends itself to an integration of feminist, multicultural, and social justice.
Feminist perspective offers a unique approach to understanding the roles that women and men with diverse social identities and experiences.
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Terminology
Androcentric: Using male-oriented constructs to draw conclusions about human, including female, nature.
Deterministic: Assumes that personality patterns and behavior are fixed at an early stage of development. Egalitarian relationship: Power should be balanced in a relationship. In feminist therapy the voices of the oppressed are acknowledged as authoritative and valuable sources of knowledge.
Ethnocentrism: The idea that one’s own cultural group is superior to others and that other groups should be judged based on one’s own standards.
Feminist perspective: Understanding the roles that women and men with diverse social identities and experiences have been socialized to accept and bringing this understanding into the therapeutic process.
Feminist psychotherapy: A philosophical orientation that lends itself to an integration of feminist, multicultural, and social justice concepts with a variety of psychotherapy approaches. The emphasis is on wellness rather than disease, resilience rather than deficits, and celebration of diverse strengths.
Flexible multicultural perspective: Uses concepts and strategies that apply equally to individuals and groups regardless of age, race, culture, gender, ability, class, or sexual orientation.
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy - Chapter 12
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Terminology page 3
Interactionist: Concepts specific to the thinking, feeling, and behaving dimensions of human experience that account for contextual and environmental factors.
Intrapsychic orientation: Attributing behavior to internal causes, which often results in blaming the victim and ignoring sociocultural and political factors
Life-span perspective: Assumes that human development is a lifelong process and that personality patterns and behavioral changes can occur at any time.
Personal is political: Individuals’ personal problems have social and political causes. Therapy is aimed at helping clients change their own behavior and become active participants in transforming society.
Postmodern feminists: This group of feminists provides a model for critiquing other traditional and feminist approaches, addressing the issue of what constitutes reality and proposing multiple truths as opposed to a single truth.
Power analysis: Emphasis is on the power difference between men and women in society. Clients are helped to recognize different kinds of power they possess and how they and others exercise power. Power analysis refers to the range of methods aimed at helping clients understand how unequal access to power and resources can influence personal realities.
Reframing: A technique whereby the counselor changes the frame of reference for looking at an individual’s behavior. There is a shift from an intrapersonal (or “blaming the victim”) stance to a consideration of social factors in the environment that contribute to a client’s problem.
Relabeling: An intervention that changes the label or evaluation applied to the client’s behavioral characteristics. Generally, the focus is shifted from a negative to a positive evaluation.
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Terminology page 4
Relational-cultural theory: A perspective suggesting that a woman’s sense of identity and self-concept develop in the context of relationships.
Self-in-relation: The idea that a woman’s sense of self depends largely on how she connects with others. Social action: Participating in some activity outside of the therapy office (such as some kind of volunteer work in the community) that is likely to empower clients by helping them see the link between their personal experiences and the social context in which they live.
White privilege: An invisible package of unearned assets White people enjoy that are not extended to people of color
History and Development
No single individual can be identified as the founder of this approach, reflecting a central theme of feminist collaboration.
The beginnings of feminism (the first wave) can be traced to the late 1800s.
The women’s movement of the 1960s (the second wave) laid the foundation for the development of feminist therapy.
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Page 2 Terminology
Gendercentric: Believing that there are two separate paths of development for women and men.
Gender-fair approaches: Explain differences in the behavior of women and men in terms of socialization processes rather than on the basis of our “innate” natures, thus avoiding stereotypes in social roles and interpersonal behavior.
Gender-neutral theory: Explains differences in the behavior of women and men in terms of socialization processes rather than viewing gender differences as fixed in nature.
Gender-role analysis: Used to help clients understand the impact of gender-role expectations in their lives. Some feminist therapists prefer the term “social identity analysis,” which reflects the importance of assessing all relevant aspects of a client’s identity.
Gender-role intervention: Provides clients with insight into the ways social issues affect their problems.
Gender schema: An organized set of mental associations people use to interpret their perceptions about gender.
Global/international feminism: This approach takes a worldwide perspective and seeks to understand the ways in which racism, sexism, economics, and classism affect women in different countries.
Heterosexist: Views a heterosexual orientation as normative and desirable and devalues same-sex relationships.
Constructs of Feminist Theory
Gender-fair approach explains differences in the behavior of men and women.
Flexible-multicultural perspective can apply equally to individuals and groups.
The interactionist view is specific to the thinking, feeling, and behaving dimensions.
A life-span perspective assumes that human development is a lifelong process.
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Feminist Perspective on Personality Development
Societal gender-role expectations profoundly influence a person’s identity from (or even before) birth.
Gilligan (1977) recognized that development of women was judged by male norms.
Females are raised in a culture grounded in sexism, and understanding internalized oppression is central to this approach.
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Relational-Cultural Theory
RCT emphasizes the vital role that relationships and connectedness with others play in the lives of women.
Therapists adopting this approach aim to
reduce the suffering caused by disconnection and isolation.
increase clients’ capacity for relational resilience.
develop mutual empathy and mutual empowerment.
foster social justice.
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Principles of Feminist Therapy
The personal is political and critical consciousness are central concepts.
Those who practice FT are committed to social change.
Women’s and girls’ voices and ways of knowing, and the voices of others who have been oppressed, are valued.
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Principles of Feminist Therapy
The counseling relationship is egalitarian.
FT focuses on strengths and a reformulated definition of psychological distress.
All types of oppression are recognized along with the connections among them.
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Therapeutic Goals
Feminist therapists help clients
become aware of their own gender-role socialization.
identify their internalized messages of oppression and replace them with more self-enhancing beliefs.
understand how sexist and oppressive societal beliefs and practices influence them in negative ways.
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Goals of Feminist Therapy
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Acquire
Acquire skills to bring about change in the environment.
Develop
Develop a wide range of behaviors that are freely chosen.
Restructure
Restructure institutions to rid them of discriminatory practices.
Evaluate
Evaluate the impact of social factors on their lives.
Goals of Feminist Therapy
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Develop
Develop a sense of personal and social power.
Recognize
Recognize the power of relationships and connectedness.
Trust
Trust their own experience and their intuition.
Role of Assessment and Diagnosis
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Diagnoses are based on the dominant culture’s view of normalcy and cannot account for cultural differences.
Feminist therapists have been sharply critical of the DSM classification system, including the current DSM-5 edition.
Critique is based on research indicating that gender, culture, and race may influence assessment of clients’ symptoms.
Techniques and Strategies
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Empowerment
Self-disclosure
Gender-role or social identity analysis
Gender-role intervention
Power analysis
Techniques and Strategies
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Bibliotherapy
Assertiveness training
Reframing and relabeling
Social action
Group work
The Role of Men in FT
Male feminist therapists are willing to
understand and “own” their male privilege.
confront sexist behavior in themselves and others.
redefine masculinity and femininity.
work toward establishing egalitarian relationships.
engage in and support women’s efforts to create a just society.
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Application to Group Work
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Group provides an outlet for social support and political action.
Forms a diverse community where members share the goal of supporting women’s experiences.
Group setting decreases feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Application to Group Work
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Self-disclosure is emphasized for both the leader and members as a means of self-exploration.
Provides a setting where clients learn to use power appropriately by providing support for each other and taking social/political actions.
Strengths From a Diversity Perspective
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FT has the most in common with the multicultural and social justice perspectives.
Clinicians strive to create an egalitarian relationship and collaborate in setting goals and choosing strategies.
Feminist therapists believe psychotherapy is inextricably bound to culture.
Limitations From a Diversity Perspective
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Advocating for change in the social structure can be problematic when working with women who do not share these beliefs.
If therapists do not fully understand and respect the cultural values of clients from diverse groups, they run the risk of imposing their own values.
Contributions of Feminist Therapy and Multicultural and Social Justice Perspectives
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Has paved the way for gender-sensitive practice and an awareness of the impact of the cultural context and multiple oppressions.
Has emphasis on social change, which can lead to a transformation in society.
Has made significant theoretical and professional advances in counseling practice.
Contributions of Feminist Therapy and Multicultural and Social Justice Perspectives
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Called attention to child abuse, incest, rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence.
Demanded action in cases of sexual misconduct at a time when male therapists misused the trust placed in them by their female clients.
Principles and techniques of FT can incorporate into many therapy models.
Limitations and Criticisms of Feminist Counseling
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Identify any sources of biases and work toward restructuring in any theories they employ.
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Influence clients, especially those who lack a strong sense of their own values.
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Call attention clients’ unexamined choices, and they must honor clients’ choices as long as those choices are indeed informed.
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Limitations and Criticisms of Feminist Counseling
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The heavy contextual or environmental factors that may detract from exploring an intrapsychic domain.
Client can understand external realities that are indeed oppressive and contributing to the state of depression.
Training in FT is often offered only sporadically in a nonsystematic way, and there is a lack of quality control.