What is it?
Feminist therapy is an approach to psychotherapy focusing on gender and the particular challenges and stresses that women face as a result of bias, stereotyping, oppression, discrimination and other factors that may threaten their mental health and wellbeing.
The therapeutic relationship, based on an authentic connection and equality between the therapist and the subject, helps to empower people to understand the social factors that contribute to their issues.
It can also help to discover and claim a unique identity, and build on personal strengths to better their own lives and those of others.
When would you use it?
Although feminist therapy began in the late 1960s as a process of women helping other women, it has evolved to include couples, families, and people of all ages and any gender who want to explore the role gender plays in their emotional lives and relationships or those of their loved ones.
Any person or group that has been marginalised, including people of colour, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender variant, people in poverty, immigrants, refugees, and people with disabilities can benefit from feminist therapy.
Some of the problems addressed in feminist therapy include sexual abuse, incest, eating disorders, and body image issues. Feminist therapy is practiced in private and in group or community settings such as women’s health clinics, LGBTQ community organizations, and domestic violence centres.
What could I expect from therapy?
In feminist therapy, clients explore their individual identity, find their strengths, and use them to feel more powerful in society.
In addition to analysis, the therapist uses tools and techniques such as role-playing, and assertiveness training to help clients build their identity and self-esteem to the degree they can behave freely, rather than conform to cultural expectations and gender roles that others believe are appropriate.
Feminist therapy for families addresses the additional challenges parents and other family members face when a loved one struggles with cultural or gender differences. In feminist therapy, unlike most other forms of psychotherapy, therapists often share their own personal stories and challenges to help clients feel more comfortable sharing their own.
It is not only personal but, like feminism, political in nature. It focuses on diversity, gender issues and sexism, and is committed to both individual and social change.
Feminist therapy exists to empower those who feel silenced or oppressed by majority cultures in society by honouring and elevating their voices. That means identifying skills and strengths that will help clients recognize and embrace their own personal power.
Feminist therapy is based on the understanding that individuals are affected by and struggle with societal norms and must learn to look to themselves as the experts in their own unique identity. This is accomplished by reframing the client’s problems in the context of societal views, rather than as a result their own personal behaviours.
What should you look for in a Feminist Therapist?
It’s not necessary to see a therapist face to face – e-counselling is a tried and tested method. Organisations such as BetterHelp exist to make the whole process much more palpable.
A feminist therapist is a licensed psychotherapist or other mental-health professional who embraces the principles of feminist theory and social justice and is sensitive to the cultural expectations, discrimination, and other social variables that individuals, especially women, face in a world where others set the standards by which they are judged. It is important to choose a feminist therapist who shares your personal and political values and with whom you feel comfortable and respected.
Feminist Therapy is a fantastic method for all people regardless of gender. By allowing clients to take a step back to look at mental health from a larger, more cultural, and socially aware perspective they can be helped to refocus their issues and develop a greater sense of self-empowerment.
