Feminist Therapy in Social Context: Empowerment and Social Change Techniques

1. Feminist Therapy Jean Baker Miller, Carolyn Zerbe Enns, Oliva M Espin, Laura S. Brown

2. Background • Role of social, political and cultural context in individual’s problems • Power: central aspect in human relations • Dominant group • has the most say in determining rules and codes of conduct (economics, political, behavioral, educational) • tends to consider what is different from them as deviant or “not as good” • Perspective of psychological theories: White European middle class men • Male gender role as normative

3. Women’s movement of the 1960’s • Reaction against limited female gender roles • Gender socialization affects women’s development and well-being • Cultural conceptions of gender serve as an organizing principle in people’s identity • Traditional therapy: way to maintain the status quo • Need for psychological theories that take into account women’s perspectives and political realities

4. 1970’s and 1980’s • Research on gender bias • Self-in relation models: • Validate relational and cooperative dimensions of women's experience • Question: are these intrinsic versus learned characteristics ? • Research emphasis on • body image, • eating disorders, • sexual abuse • domestic abuse

5. 1970’s and 1980’s • Expanded focus to: • multiple oppressions • gender, race, sexual orientation, social class • multicultural competence, and • social justice • Incorporated ideas about gender socialization in working with men -- Men’s Movement • Men and masculinity gender role norms

6. Gender Roles Theory: Original vs. Post Modern Feminism • Original: There are two innate (biologically rooted) paths of development for women and men. • Society devalues women’s dispositions of connectedness and inter-dependence and exalts men’s independent and autonomous orientation. • Socio-cultural and power analyses Rejects the notion of innategender differences • Traditional women’s gender roles and dispositions have been acquired/learnedin the context of women’s subservient position to men

7. Hare-Mustin, Rachel T. & Marecek, Jeanne (1988). The meaning of difference: Gender theory, postmodernism, and psychology. American Psychologist, Vol 43(6), 455-464. Women and men are different. ??? Women and men are the same. ????

8. Common Themes in Feminist Philosophies • Gender socialization is central to therapeutic practice for men & women • A socio-political and cultural perspective is essential in understanding people’s problems: • Ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, class, age & disabilities • Symptoms may be self-preservation responses to an oppressive environment

9. Cultural, socio political perspective Gay Rights -- USA • 1973 - Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). • 2015- the Supreme Court is set any day to decide whether states can forbid marriage among same-sex couples from

10. San Francisco Unified School D. Middle and High S. (CDC)

11. Goals of Therapy • Empowerment • Help clients free themselves from the internalized constraints of gender role socialization and oppression • Societal change • Social change to eliminate sexism and other forms of oppression

12. Techniques and Strategies • Egalitarian counselor-client relationship • Actively engage client in setting the direction, goals, length and procedures of therapy • Favors therapist self disclosure to decrease power differential • Gender Role Analyses/Intervention • Emphasize societal as opposed to intra-psychic origin of problems • Examine how internalized societal expectations regarding gender roles are related to client’s issues • Internalized homo-phobia, racial devaluation

13. Techniques and Strategies • Power analysis • Raise awareness of power difference between men and women in society (or other groups). • Help clients recognize different kinds of power they possess and how they and others exercise power– personal and societal levels • Assertiveness Training • Teach firm, proactive behaviors to have person stand for themselves

14. Techniques and Strategies • Bibliotherapy • To help educate clients about societal issues • Increases clients’ expertise and decreases power differential in therapy • Social Action • Encourage clients to actively influence social change regarding women/other oppressed groups • Helps empower clients by making the connection between society and personal problems

15. 1972 2011

16. Contributions • Raised awareness of multiple oppressions: cultural, contextual, individual • Validated women’s perspectives • Recognized and sanctioned sexual conduct in therapeutic relations • Valued strengths in women's qualities of nurturance and cooperation (rather than competition) • Established as proper focus of therapy to change oppressive conditions rather than just expect clients to adapt to them

17. Limitations • Feminist therapy does not take a neutral stance regarding gender roles • May put undue pressure on clients to follow a specific direction • Not all clients may be interested in engaging in social action • Over-emphasis on environmental factors may • Neglect exploration of the intra-psychic world • Motivate clients to forsake responsibility for themselves in the face of an unjust world