FEMINIST

THERAPY

Reporter:
Rosenharr Mae R. Antogop
 CONTEMPORARY
FEMINIST THERAPISTS
JEAN BAKER MILLER
• Clinical professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of
Medicine and director of the Jean Baker Miller Training
Institute at the Stone Center, Wellesley College.
• She wrote “Toward a New Psychology of Women” (1986)
• Coauthored “The Healing Connection: How Women Form
Relationships in Therapy and in Life (Miller & Stiver, 1997) and
“Women’s Growth in Connection” (Jordan et al., 1991)
• Collaborated with diverse groups of scholars and colleagues
on the development of relational-cultural theory.
• Expand the relational-cultural theory and explore new
applications to complex issues of diversity, social action, and
workplace change.
CAROLYN ZERBE ENNS
• Professor of Psychology.
• Participant in the Women’s Studies and Ethnic
Studies programs at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon,
Iowa.
• She became interested in feminist therapy while she
was completing her PhD in Counseling Psychology at
the University of California, Santa Barbara.
• Devotes most of her work upon exploring the
profound impact feminist theory has on the manner
which therapists implement therapeutic practices.
• Discusses the impact of “Feminist Theories and
Feminist Psychotherapies: Origins, Themes, and
Diversity” (2004).
CAROLYN ZERBE ENNS
• Dr. Enns was one of the three co-chairs (with Roberta
Nutt and Joy Rice) of the task force that developed
APA’s (2007) “Guidelines for Psychological Practice
with Girls and Women”.

• Most recent efforts directed toward articulating the

important the importance of multicultural feminist
therapy, exploring practice of feminist therapy
around the world (esp in Japan), and writing about
multicultural feminist pedagogies.
OLIVA M. ESPIN
• Professor Emerita in the Department of Women’s
Studies at San Diego State University and at the
California School of Professional Psychology of
Alliant International University.

• Native of Cuba

• Undergraduate work in Psychology at the

Universidad de Costa Rica

• Received PhD from the University of Florida

OLIVA M. ESPIN
• Specializing in counseling and therapy with women
from different cultures and in Latin American studies.

• She is a pioneer in the theory and practice of feminist

therapy with women from different cultural
backgrounds.

• Has done extensive research, teaching, and training

on multicultural issues in pyschology.

• Co-edited Refugee Women and Their Mental Health:

Shattered Societies, Shattered Lives
LAURA S. BROWN
• Founding member of the Feminist Therapy Institute

• Member of the theory workgroup at the National

Conference on Education and Training in Feminist
Practice.

• Written books are the following: “Subversive

Dialogues: Theory in Feminist Therapy” (1994) and
“Feminist Therapy” (2010)

• Current interests include feminist forensic

psychology and the application of feminist principles
to treatment of trauma survivors.
 HISTORY
AND • The beginnings of feminism can be traced
DEVELOPMENT to the late 1800s, but it is the women’s
movement of the 1960s that laid the
Feminist therapy has foundation for the development of
developed in a feminist therapy.
grassroot manner,
responding to
challenges and to the
emerging needs of
women (Brabeck &
Brown, 1997).

No single individual
can be identified as
the founder of this
approach, reflecting a
central theme of
feminist collaboration.
 HISTORY
AND • A sisterhood developed, and some of the
DEVELOPMENT services evolved from women’s collective
desires to improve society which included
In the 1960s women shelters for battered women, rape crisis
began uniting their centers, and women health &
voices to express their reproductive health centers.
dissatisfaction with the
limiting and confining
nature of traditional
female roles.

Consciousness-raising
groups arise where in
women came together
to share their
experiences and
perceptions, helped
individual women
become aware that they
are not alone.
 HISTORY
AND • They took the stance that therapy needed
DEVELOPMENT to move away from an intrapsychic
perspective on psychopathology to focus
In Feminist on understanding the social, political, and
perspective, they cultural forces in society that damage and
constrain girls and women, as well as boys
believed that
and men.
personal counseling
was a legitimate
means to effect
change, viewed
therapy as a
partnership
between equals and
built mutuality into
the therapeutic
process.
 HISTORY
AND
DEVELOPMENT
• 1970s
-emerged a profusion of research on gender-bias which
bring and developed formal organizations that foster
definition of feminist therapy like AWP (Association for
Women in Psychology) and various efforts of APA (American
Psychological Association).

• 1980s
-marked the effort to define feminist therapy as an entity in its
own right. (Enns, 1993) and individual therapy became most
frequently practiced form of feminist therapy. It become diverse as
it focused increasingly on specific problems and issues such as
body image, abusive relationships, eating disorders, incest, and
other forms of sexual abuse.
Enns (1993, 2004; Enns & Sinacore, 2001)
Identifies four enduring feminist philosophies which are often described as the
“second wave” of feminism:

LIBERAL

CULTURAL
RADICAL
SOCIALIST
 LIBERAL FEMINISTS

Focus: Helping individual women overcome the

limits and constraints of traditional gender-
role socialization patterns.

Emphasis: Argue for a transformation from accepting

traditional gender roles to creating equal
opportunities for both women and men.
Feminists tend to believe the difference
between men and women will be less prob-
lematic as work and social environments
become increasingly bias free.

Major Goals of Therapy: Personal empowerment of

individual women, dignity, self-fulfillment,
shared power in decision-making in relation-
ships, and equality. Eliminate psychotherapy
practices that have supported traditional
socialization and are based on biased views
about women and men (Enns, 2004).
 CULTURAL FEMINISTS

Focus: Believe oppression stems from society’s de-

valuation of women’s strengths, values, and
roles.

Emphasis: 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.

Highlights the value of interdependence over

individualism.

Major Goals of Therapy: Social transformation through

the infusion of feminine values into the culture.
 RADICAL FEMINISTS

Focus: Oppression of women that is embedded in

patriarchy and seek to change society through
activism and equalizing power.

Emphasis: Strive to identify and question the many ways

in which patriarchy dominates every area of life
including household chores, paid employment,
intimate partnerships, violence, & parenting.

They challenge the many ways women denied

power.

Major Goals of Therapy: To transform gender relation-

ships, transform societal institutions, & increase
women’s sexual & procreative self-determination.
 SOCIALIST FEMINISTS

Focus: Share with radical feminists the goal of societal

change.

Emphasis: Multiple oppressions and believe solutions

to society’s problems must include considerations
of class, race, sexual orientation, economics,
nationality, and history.

Pay close attention to the ways that work, edu-

cation & family roles affect their lives.

Major Goals of Therapy: Transform social relationships

and institutions.
In 1993, psychologists who embraced a diversity of feminist perspectives met at the
National Conference on Education and Training in Feminist Practice. Enns (2004) states
That a “third wave” of feminism embraces diversity with its inclusion of women of
Color, lesbians, and the postmodern and constructivist viewpoints by most recent
Generation feminist women.

Enns (2004) describes some of the key characteristics associated with contemporary
Approaches as follows:

POSTMODERN FEMINISTS
WOMEN OF COLOR FEMINISTS

LESBIAN FEMINISTS
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL FEMINISTS
 POSTMODERN FEMINISTS

Emphasis: provide a model for critiquing other traditional

and feminist approaches, addressing the issue of
what constitutes reality and proposing multiple
truths as opposed to a single truth.

The postmodern perspective is based on the assump-

Tion that “reality is embedded in social relationships
And historical contexts, is socially or invented, and
Is reproduced through power relationships”
This approach calls attention to the limitation of
Knowledge and the fallability of “knowers”.
 WOMEN OF COLOR FEMINISTS

Emphasis: Believe it is essential that feminist theory

broadened and be more inclusive.

They challenge feminist theory to include

analysis of the intersections of multiple
oppressions, an assessment of access to
privelege and power, to recognize the impor-
tance of the spiritual dimension of human
experience, and to emphsize activism.
 LESBIAN FEMINISTS

Emphasis: This perspective calls for feminist theory

to include an analysis of the intersections
of a person’s multiple identities and their
relationship to oppression and to recognize
the diversity that exists among lesbians.
 GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL FEMINISTS

Emphasis: Take a worldwide perspective and seek to

understand the ways in which racism, sexism,
economics, and classism affect women in
different countries.

They assume that each woman lives under

unique systems of oppression. They see a
need to address those cultural differences
that directly contribute to women’s oppression.
 VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
Key Concepts
The feminist view of human nature is fundamentally different from that of most
therapeutic models. Many of the traditional theories grew out of a historical
period in which social arrangements were assumed to be rooted in one’s biolo-
gically based gender.

Worell and Remer (2003) are critical of traditional theories for being:

ANDROCENTRIC

Using male-oriented constructs to draw conclusions about human, including

female, nature.

GENDERCENTRIC
Proposing two separate paths of development for women and men.
 VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
Key Concepts
HETEROSEXIST
Viewing a heterosexual orientation as normative and desirable and devaluing
lesbian, gay male, and bisexual orientations.

DETERMINISTIC
Assuming that personality patterns and behavior are fixed at an early stage
of development.

INTRAPSYCHIC ORIENTATION
Attributing behavior to internal causes, which often results in blaming the
Victim and ignoring sociocultural and political factors.
 VIEW OF HUMAN NATURE
Key Concepts
Worell and Remer (2003) describe the constructs of feminist theory as being
Gender fair, flexible-multicultural, interactionist, and life-span oriented.

GENDER-FAIR APPROACHES
Explain differences in the behavior of women and men in terms of socialization
Processes rather than on the basis of our “innate” natures, thus avoiding stereo-
Types in social roles and interpersonal behavior.

FLEXIBLE-MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Uses concepts and strategies that apply equally to individuals and groups regard-
Less of age, race, culture, gender, ability, class or sexual orientation.
INTERACTIONIST
View contains concepts specific to the thinking, feeling, and behaving dimensions
Of human experience and accounts for contextual and environmental factors.
LIFE-SPAN PERSPECTIVE
Assumes that human development is a lifelong process and that personality and
Behavioral changes can occur at any time rather than being fixed during early child
hood.
PRINCIPLES OF
FEMINIST THERAPY
1. The personal is political
2. Commitment to change
3. Women’s and girl’s voices and ways of
Knowing are valued and their experiences
Are honored.
4. The counseling ralationship is egalitarian.
5. A focus on strengths and a reformulated
Definition of psychological destress.
6. All types of oppression are recognized.
THE THERAPEUTIC
PROCESS
Therapeutic Goals
At the individual level, feminist therapists work to help females
and males recognize, claim, and embrace their personal power.
Empowering the client is at the heart of feminist therapy, which
is the overarching long-term therapeutic goal (Gilbert & Rader,
2007).

Through this empowerment, clients are able to free themselves

from the constraints of their gender-role socialization and to
challenge ongoing institutional oppression.
 According to Worell and and Remer (2003), feminist
therapists help clients:
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 influence them in negative ways.
Acquire skills to bring out change in the environment.

Restructure institutions to rid them of discriminatory practices.

Develop a wide range of behaviors that are freely chosen.
According to Worell and and Remer (2003), feminist therapists
help clients:

Evaluate the impact of social factors on their lives.

Develop a sense of personal and social power.
Recognize the power of relationships and connectedness.
Trust their own experience and their intuition.