Lesson 43

GENDER AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

Most students doing an under graduate or graduate course in psychology are familiar with the various
perspectives or prevalent models in psychology. All of these models have their specific approach towards
the understanding and explanation of mental illness, as well as the therapeutic interventions for treating
these disorders. In our discussion on gender and psychotherapy we will not go into the details of the
commonly known psychotherapeutic approaches that may be around 400 in number.
It is assumed that you are already fully aware of these approaches. Our emphasis, in this segment of this
course, will be upon the feminist approach toward psychotherapy. As discussed earlier, the feminist
approach emphasizes women’s issues, the impact of socialization, gender stereotypes, issues specific to
women’s well being, and similar topics. Before starting our discussion on gender and psychotherapy, let
us try to find the answer to a question!

What is common between psychoanalysis, Behavioral Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Existential

Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy?
If the question puzzles and confuses you, then think about another question!
What is common between Freud, Jung, Adler, Watson, Skinner, Rogers Maslow and Ellis??
We are sure that you have found the answer. In the former question, all the therapeutic approaches
mentioned were given by male psychologists. And in the latter, all the psychologist mentioned are males.
Not only that all these are male psychologists but, more than that they are all male psychologists, from the
west, all white.

In our discussion on gender and psychopathology, we mentioned that men are used as norms;
stereotypically masculine gender roles are considered as a standard. As a result, a behavior deviating
significantly from this norm, i.e., feminine behavior, is likely to be identified as pathological. A similar
trend has been observed, and can always be expected, in the therapeutic intervention if the therapeutic
process is male-dominated, male-centered, and male-controlled.

As a result of the feminist movement of the 1960s, psychological approaches, and therapeutic
interventions also saw a shift in focus. Psychotherapists with a feminist approach do not deal with, and
understand, pathology in the same manner as a conventional therapist would usually do. We find two key
elements at the core of the feminist therapeutic process:
Gender
Power

“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” (Herlihy, and Corey, 2001, P. 343). Herlihy and
Corey have given a very good account of the historical evolution, nature, and process of feminist therapy.
“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” (Herlihy, and Corey, 2001).

Traditional Versus Feminist Theory

While some psychologists on one hand were trying to give feminist theory a shape and polish it, many
others were looking into the faulty perceptions of genders held by conventional approaches in
psychology.

In a similar attempt, Worell and Remer (1992) highlighted six features/characteristics of the prevalent
traditional theories. These characteristic show the outdated assumptions about the role of a person’s
gender in behavior. These characteristics determine the nature and process of psychotherapy.

Worell and Remer (1992) described the following characteristics:

Androcentric Theory
Such theories draw conclusions about human nature form male-oriented constructs.

Gendercentric Theory
These theories rest on the assumption that men and women follow separate developmental paths. This
assumption appears to have the underlying belief that men and women are separate entities, and therefore
the course and nature of their development is different.

Ethnocentric Theories
These theories propose that all cultures, nations, and races have the same factual evidence related to
human development and interaction.

Heterosexism
This approach views heterosexual orientation to be normative; therefore this orientation is the socially
acceptable norm and desirable behavior.

Intrapsychic Orientation
It is a tendency towards finding
The origin of behavior in intrapsychic causes. As a consequence instead of finding fault with the
circumstances and other external variables, it is usually the victim who is to be blamed.

Determinism
This a pessimistic approach in the sense that it assumes that behavior, and personality are pre-determined,
and fixed at an early stage of development.
All these characteristics make the nature of conventional therapies quite fixed, inflexible, and single
tracked. Feminist therapy, on the other hand, involves more flexibility, human element, and an
interactionist approach .

The Characteristics of the Feminist Theory

Worell and Remer (1992) have shown how the main features of feminist theory can be used as criteria for
evaluating whether a theory for counseling women is suitable or not. Besides describing the
characteristics of conventional psychotherapy, Worell and Remer (1992) have also described the essential
elements of feminist therapy.
Gender-free Theories
Feminist theory considers socialization processes to be very important. As opposed to conventional
theories feminist theories explain gender differences considering the experiences of the socialization
process to be of prime importance. The conventional theories take these differences to be stemming for
the ‘true’ nature of people.
Flexible Theories
Feminist theory involves constructs and strategies that are equally applicable to individuals as well as
groups, all ages, races, cultures, genders, or sexual orientations. One can take this feature to imply that
feminist therapy gives due importance to the lifestyle, gender, cultural origin etc. when viewing the
problems of the client.
Interactionist Theories
As the very name implies, different aspects of human experience are covered; cognition, affect, and
behavior. Besides, the contextual and environmental variables are also taken into account.
Life-span Perspective
As compared to the conventional perspectives, the feminist perspective does not limit its understanding of
behavior or pathology to socialization in early years alone. The whole life-span is considered important
and all stages of development treated as significant contributors.
Human development is not restricted to the so-called “formative years” alone, but it is a life long process.
Changes, growth, and addition of new facets in personality may take place at any stage.

Principles of Feminist Psychology

Feminist theory is based upon the following principles (Herlihy, and Corey, 2001):
The personal is political
Social transformation should be a goal. We should go for social change, not just individual change.

The counseling relationship is egalitarian:

Feminist theory, counseling, or therapy is not skewed towards the therapists. It gives an important and
active place to the client. The client is perceived as someone who has the potential to not only change
(within herself), but also who can produce change. Instead of being the only, and the final authority, the
therapist is just another source of information.
Clients have an active role in defining themselves.
Feminist theory honors women’s experiences:
Unlike other theories and therapies, men’s behavior is not considered as a norm. These theories place
women’s experiences at the very core of the therapeutic process in understanding their distress. A goal of
feminist therapy is to replace patriarchal “objective truth” with feminist consciousness, which
acknowledges a diversity of ways of knowing. Women are encouraged to express their emotions and their
intuition and to use their personal experience as a touchstone for determining what “reality” is.”
“Theories of feminist therapy evolve from and reflect lived experiences that emerge from the
relationships among the participants” (Herlihy, and Corey, 2001, P. 352).
Feminist therapy reformulates the definitions of mental illness and distress:
Deviating from the conventional approach, feminist therapies define and do not see distress, pain, or
psychological problems as a disease. Only a part of clients’ distress, pain, and agony consists of the
intrapsychic and interpersonal factors. These factors only partially explain the problem. The rest can be
explained after an understanding of the external factors.
Therefore, feminist therapy reframes distress as a communication about unjust systems, rather than a
disease. Similarly pain is understood as an evidence of resistance and the skill and will to survive
(Worell, and Johnson, 1997). Whereas the conventional approaches may define pain as indicative of some
deficit or defect.
The use of an integrated analysis of oppression:
In the understanding of oppression, the feminist therapists use an integrated, all involving, approach. In
understanding and explaining human behavior, or distress, the feminist therapies give importance to the
culturally shaped gender roles; the effect of stereotypical upbringing and differential treatment of
genders. Cultural practices, primarily those of raising children, affect the personalities, perceptions, and
attitudes of both men and women.

When men go for therapy or counseling, they find it difficult to express their emotions as they have
learnt that vulnerability is a weakness; they have this problem even in their daily, routine life.
Women; on the other hand, experience another problem. Since they have not been independent, and
have learned to give prime importance to the family’s well-being, rather than their own wishes, they
find it hard to identify and honor what they want out of therapy.