Guidance feminist.

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She made important contributions toward expanding this theory and exploring new applications to complex issues in psychotherapy and beyond, including issues of diversity, social action, and workplace change.

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Transcript of Guidance feminist.

Page 1: Guidance feminist.

She made important contributions toward expanding this theory and exploring new applications to complex issues in psychotherapy and beyond, including issues of diversity, social action, and workplace change.

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She made an efforts directed toward articulating the importance of multicultural feminist therapy, exploring the practice of feminist therapy around the world (especially in Japan), and writing about multicultural feminist pedagogies. 

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She is a pioneer in the theory and practice of feminist therapy with women from different cultural backgrounds and has done extensive research, teaching, and training on multicultural issues in psychology.

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Founding member of the Feminist Therapy Institute, an organization dedicated to the support of advanced practice in feminist therapy, and a member of the theory workgroup at the National Conference on Education and Training in Feminist Practice.

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Feminist therapy puts gender and power at the core of the therapeutic process. Feminist therapy is built on the premise that it is essential to consider the social, cultural, and political context that contributes to a person’s problems in order to understand that person.

A central concept in feminist therapy is the importance of understanding and acknowledging the psychological oppression of women and the constraints imposed by the sociopolitical status to which women have been relegated.

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Feminist therapy has developed in a grassroots manner, responding to challenges and to the emerging needs of women.

Feminist therapy can be traced to the women’s movement of the 1960’s, a time when women began uniting their voices to express their dissatisfaction with the limiting and confining nature of traditional female roles.

A profusion of research on gender bias emerged in the 1970’s, which helped further feminist therapy ideas, and organizations began to foster the development of feminist therapy.

Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) American Psychological Association (APA)

 

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Four Enduring Feminist Philosophies(Described as the second wave of

feminism) Liberal feminists focus on helping

individual women overcome the limits and constraints of their socialization patterns.

Cultural feminists believe oppression stems from society’s devaluation of women’s strengths.

Radical feminists focus on the oppression of women that is embedded in patriarchy and seek to change society through activism.

Socialist feminists share with radical feminists the goal of societal change.

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(Third Wave) women of color, lesbians, and the postmodern and constructivist viewpoints .

Postmodern feminists provide a model for critiquing the value of other traditional and feminist approaches, addressing the issue of what constitutes reality and proposing multiple truths as opposed to a single truth.

Women of color feminists believe it is essential that feminist theory be broadened and made more inclusive.

Lesbian feminists share commonalities with many aspects of radical feminism.

Global-international feminists take a worldwide perspective and seek to understand the ways in which racism, sexism, economics, and classism affect women in different countries.

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Characteristics of traditional theories : Androcentric theory -uses male

orientated constructs to draw conclusions about human nature.

Gendercentric theories -propose two separate paths of development for women and men.

Heterosexist theories -view a heterosexual orientation as normative and desirable and devalue same-sex relationships.

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Determinismtic-assumes that present personality patterns and behavior are fixed at an early stage of development.

Intrapsychic orientation -attributes behavior to intrapsychic causes, which often results in blaming the victim.

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Worell and Remer describe the construct of

Feminist theory as being: Gender-fair theories- explain

differences in the behavior of women and men in terms of socialization processes rather than on the basis of our “true” natures.

Flexible-multicultural theory-uses concepts and strategies that apply equally to both individuals and groups regardless of age, race, culture, gender, ability, class, or sexual orientation.

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Interactionist theories-contain concepts sepcific to the thinking, feeling, and behaving dimensions of human experience and account for contextual and environmental factors.

Life-span perspective- assumes that human development is a lifelong process and that personality patterns and behavioral changes can occur at any time rather than being fixed during early childhood.

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Feminist therapists emphasize that societal gender-role expectations profoundly influence a person’s identity from the moment of birth and become deeply ingrained in adult personality.

Girls play with dolls, boys play with trucks.

Boys model the aggressive, power-seeking nature of adult males and thus reduce their capacity for the expression of empathy and certain emotions.

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1.The personal is political- personal or individual problems that individuals bring to counseling in a political and social context.

2.Commitment to social change- aims not only for individual change but for social change.

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3. Women’s and girl’s voices and ways of knowing are valued and their experiences are honored.

4. The counseling relationship is egalitarian.

5. A focus on strengths and a formulated definition of psychological distress.

6. All types of oppression are recognized.

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5 goals for feminist therapy have been proposed-equality, balancing independence and interdependence, empowerment, self-nurturance, and valuing diversity.

The ultimate goal of feminist therapy is to create the kind of society where sexism and other forms of discrimination and oppression are no longer a reality. The therapist strives for transformation, for both the client and society as a whole.

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Individual level: is to help women and men recognize, claim, and embrace their personal power. Through the empowerment, clients are able to free themselves from the constraints of their gender-role socialization and to challenge ongoing institutional oppression.

Feminist therapists help clients to depathologize women’s experiencing and to change society so that women’s voices are honored and women’s relational qualities are valued.

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Therapists use gender and power analyses to understand clients and their concerns, and they are committed to monitoring their own biases and distortions, especially the social and cultural dimensions of women’s experiences.

Feminists share common ground with existential therapists who emphasize therapy as a shared journey.

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Also share beliefs with person-centered therapists such as trusting the client’s ability to move forward in a positive and constructive manner.

Also believe the process should be nonhierarchical, person-to-person relationship, and aim to empower clients to live according to their own values and to rely on an internal locus of control in determining what is right for them.

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Clients are active participants in the therapeutic process.

Therapists are committed to ensuring that this doesn’t become another arena in which women remain passive and dependent. It is important to give voice to their experiencing.

Clients realize they are really understood, they begin to get in tough with a range of feelings including anger, and other “prohibited” emotions that they may have learned to deny themselves.

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The therapeutic relationship is a partnership, and the client will be the expert in determining what he needs and wants from therapy.

Major goal: is empowerment, which requires a sense of self-acceptance, self-confidence, joy and authenticity.

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First: are acutely sensitive to ways they might abuse their own power in the relationship, such as by diagnosing unnecessarily, by interpreting or giving advice, by staying aloof behind and “expert” role, or by discounting the impact the power imbalance between therapist and client has on the relationship.

Second: therapists actively focus on the power clients have in the therapeutic relationship.

Third: feminist therapists work to demystify the counseling relationship

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Many feminist therapists do not use diagnostic labels, or they use them reluctantly.

Feminist therapists believe diagnostic labels are severely limiting for these reasons:

They focus on the individual’s symptoms and not the social factors that cause dysfunctional behavior.

May represent an instrument of oppression.

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They may reinforce gender-role stereotypes and encourage adjustment to the norms of status quo.

May reflect the inappropriate application of power in the therapeutic relationship.

Can lead to an overemphasis on individual solutions rather than social change.

Have the potential to reduce one’s respect for clients.

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Empowerment: getting the most from each session, clear expectations, identifying goals, and working toward a contract that will guide the process.

Self-disclosure: is not just sharing information and experiences. Also involves a certain quality of presence the therapist brings to the sessions.

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Gender:role Analysis: explores the impact of expectations on the client’s well being or distress and draws upon this information to make decision about future gender-role behaviors.

Gender-role Intervention: placing it in context of society’s role expectations for women. The aim is to provide insight into the ways that social issues are affecting the problem.

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Power Analysis and Power Intervention: becoming aware of the power difference between men and women in society and empowering to take charge of ones self and life. Also includes recognizing different kinds of power that clients possess or to which they have access.

Bibliotherapy: Books that address the consequences of society’s obsession with certain issues. Can explore and enhance therapy by reactions to what they are reading.

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Assertiveness Training: Become aware of their interpersonal rights, transcend stereotypical gender roles, change negative beliefs, and implement changes in their daily lives.

Reframing and Relabeling: Reframing implies a shift from “blaming the victim” to a consideration of social factors in the environment that contribute to a client’s problem. Relabeling is an intervention that changes the label or evaluation applied to some behavioral characteristic.

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Work: Group work alone is often the preferred modality for some issues that women experience in out culture. Self help groups and advocacy groups help women experience their connectedness and unity with other women.

Social Action: Participation in activities can empower clients and help them see the link between their personal experiences and the socio-political context in which they live.

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 Men can be nonsexist therapists Men can be pro-feminist therapists

when they embrace the principles and incorporate the practices of feminism in their work. This entails being willing to confront sexist behavior in themselves and others, redefining masculinity and femininity according to other than traditional values, working toward establishing egalitarian relationships, and actively supporting women’s efforts to create a just society.

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Feminist therapists suggest that multicultural counseling refers to the analysis of social structures affecting mental health, including sexism, racism, and other levels of both oppression and privilege.

The use of power in relationships has application for understanding power inequities due to racial and cultural factors.

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The therapists job is not to take away any of the pain or struggle, nor to choose for the client, but to be present in such a way that the client will truly be empowered to decide for him/herself.

The core value of equality in feminist therapy may limit the effectiveness of the therapist in working with clients from culturally different backgrounds.