FEMINIST

What about Feminist Therapy

THERAPY
Approaches

GROUP 1
-Abatayo, Jed G. - Sunsuk Lee
-Matias, Ranamichlle D. - Yun, Hong Ran
-Taclibon, Rimat Maris I.
 Feminist
Major Therapy Approaches

Philosophies
of
Liberal
eminists
F
•It focuses on helping individual women ove rcome the limits and constraints of
traditional gender-role socialization patterns. Liberal
feminists argue for a transformation from accepting
traditional gender roles to creating equal opportunities for
both women and men. These feminists tend to believe the
differences between women and men will be less problematic
as work and social environments become increasingly bias
free. (Enns,2004)•

Feminist Therapist
Cultural
eminist
F
•Believes that oppression stems from society’s devaluation of
women’s strengths, values and roles. They emphasize the
differences between women and men and believe the solution
to oppression lies in feminization of the culture so that
society becomes more nurturing, intuitive, subjective,
cooperative, and relational. Cultural feminism highlights the
value of interdependence over individualism (Enns,
2004).

Feminist Therapist
Radical
•It focuses on the oppression of women that is embedded
eminists
F
in patriarchy and seek to change society through activism
and equalizing power. Radical feminists strive to identify
and question the many ways in which patriarchy
dominates every area of life including household chores,
paid employment, intimate partnerships, violence, and
parenting.

Feminist Therapist
Social
eminists
F • Shares with radical feminists the goal of
societal change. Their emphasis differs,
however, in that they focus on multiple
oppressions and believe solutions to society’s
problems must include considerations of class,
race, sexual orientation, economics, nationality,
and history

Feminist Therapist
Core
Feminist
Therapy Approaches

Concepts
of
 •It was developed in response to the many challenges women have
faced throughout the history. The understanding that women may
experience mental health issues as a result of psychological oppression.

Feminist Therapist
 Sex Role Stereotypes and
Androgyny
•Individuals are categorized as having
one of four gender role orientations such
as the masculine, feminine, androgynous
or undifferentiated.

Feminist Therapist
 Sex Role Stereotypes and
Androgyny
•Masculine – a person that is high on instrumental traits
•Feminine – a person that is high on feminine or expressive traits
•Androgyny – a term derived from the greek words andras meaning “man”
and gyne meaning “woman”. This means that there is a combination of
masculine and feminine characteristics
•Undifferentiated – a person that both low on masculine and feminine traits

Feminist Therapist
 Gender Schema
Therapy
•are used to organize and direct the child's
behavior based on his or her society's
gender norms and expectations related to
the child's gender.

Feminist Therapist
 •Difference Between the Terms Sex and
Gender
SEX: Male and Female
Gender: Man, Woman, Girl, Boy, Actor, Acrress

•The Social Construction of

Gender
Gender vary within across groupsconstructions in a society.   (Crethar, Torres Rivera, & Nash, 2008)

•Gender and Power

A great d
Differentials
eal of human suffering takes place be r in society that is based on factors cause of the unequal distributionof powe

such as race and ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation, and so on.

Feminist Therapist
MAJOR Feminist
Therapy Approaches

GOALS of
 •The goal of feminist therapy is to empower all people to create a world of equality
that is reflected at individual, interpersonal, institutional, national, and global levels
(Enns& ByarsWinston, 2010).
•Become aware of their own gender-role socialization process.
•Identify their internalized messages and replace them with more self-enhancing
beliefs.
•Understand how sexist and oppressive societal beliefs and practices infl uence them
in negative ways

Feminist Therapist
SIX TENETS OF
FEMINIST THERAPY
THEORY

These principles are

interrelated and overlapping.
 5. A FOCUS ON
1.      E
Th
3. WOMEN’S AND STRENGTHS AND A
PERSONAL IS GIRL’S VOICES AND REFORMULATED
POLITICAL. WAYS OF DEFINITION OF
KNOWING ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL
SIX TENETS OF VALUED AND THEIR DISTRESS.
FEMINIST THERAPY EXPERIENCES ARE
HONORED.
THEORY

These principles are 6. ALL TYPES OF

OPPRESSION ARE
interrelated and overlapping. 2.    RECOGNIZED. CLIENTS
COMMITMEN 4. THE CAN BEST BE
UNDERSTOOD IN THE
T TO SOCIAL COUNSELING CONTEXT OF THEIR
CHANGE. RELATIONSHI SOCIOCULTURAL
ENVIRONMENTS.
P IS
EGALITARIAN
.
MAJOR
APPROACHES
in Feminist Therapy
Consciousness-raising
•Is sometimes held in small groups in a leaderless manner
involving the discussion of women’s individual and shared
experiences. Women in these groups do not have to feel
that they are alone and they could listen and support
others.
•Consciousness-raising helps women feel more powerful
to take steps against oppression by participating in social
action.

Feminist Therapist
 Social and Gender Role
Analysis
•It involves the evaluation of the client’s
psychological distress and methods of coping.
This helps the client become aware and identify
his or her own experiences in regards to social and
gender role norms.

Feminist Therapist
Resocializati
on
•Follows social and gender role analysis and
involves reorganizing the client’s belief system.
They learn to view things differently and they
develop new coping
skills and strategies. Methods are taught that
increase self esteem, assertiveness, and self views.
A main goal of resocialization is an overall
increase in well being.

Feminist Therapist
Social
activism
•A controversial and not practiced by all
therapists. It is embedded in the notion
that “personal is political”, which is one of the
basic tenets of feminist therapy. This means that
there are underlying roots of client’s problems that
stem from society and politics.

Feminist Therapist
Feminist Therapist
 Therapist should be: Therapist must:
Feminist Practitioners
-knowledgeable concerning gender role -understand the sexist context of the social
(Bohan, 1992) socialization and the impact these standards system in which men and women live and its both
Guidelines for

have on what it means to be a woman or a the impact both the individual and the family.
man. -be committed to promoting roles for both men
and women that are not limited by cultural or
gender stereotypes.

-cognizant of the impact of th e distribution of power

within the family and the power
differentials between men and women in -acquire intervention skills and assists clients
terms of decision making, child rearing, in their gender role journey.
career options, and division of labor.tures. -be committed to working toward the
elimination of gender role bias a source of
pathology throughout society.
Tool and techniques in
using FEMINIST Therapy
approaches
Feminist therapy does not prescribe any particular set of
interventions; rather, feminists therapists tailor intervention
to client's strengths with the goal of empowering clients
while evoking their feminist consciousness (Brown,2010).
Tool and techniques in using FEMINIST
Therapy approaches

EMPOWERMENT
SELF DISCLOSURE
GENDER-ROLE ANALYSIS
GENDER-ROLE INTERVENTION
POWER ANALYSIS
BIBLIOTHERAPY
ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING
REFRAMING AND RELABELING
SOCIAL ACTION
GROUP WORK
 EN DO F

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