Theory and
practice in
feminist
therapy
Susan Amelia Thomas
Feminist therapy developed
largely in response to what maniy
women viewed as hurtful, oppres-
sive, and destructive in more
traditional forms of psychother-
‘apy. The study reported here
explores the mature and practice
of this newly emerging mode of
therapy and is based on inter-
views with therapists who identify
themselves as feminist therapists.
Susan Amelie Thomas, MSW, was, at
the time of writing, Junior Psychiatric
Social Worker, Clackamas County
Day Treatment Programm, Gladstone,
Oregon. This article is bared on re-
search from the author's MSW thesis,
> School of Social Work, Portland State
University, Portland, Oregon.
“Ts Pun aT 19605 in
‘States, @ social moyement referred 10
4s the second wave of feminism began,
‘The movement was called x “second
wave” because it represented a re:
awakening of the feminist movement
‘of the late 1800s and early 1900s. An
analysis of society from a Feminist per-
spective has been an essential part of
this new movement. According to the
feminist critique, the traditional view
‘of men and women that has prevailed
in society states that because _women
differ from men biologically they
should serve different social functions
and engage in different social roles
Advocates of feminism reject this
view, believing that the assumption of
different roles according to sex is the
result of social conditioning and an in-
stitutionalized sexual class system and
is dictated by sociocultural as opposed
to biological determinism. Proceeding
logically from the feminist critique of
society is the idea that although social
conditioning and institutionalized sex
roles have been oppressive to members
of both sexes, they have oppressed
‘women in particular by preventing
them from functioning and making
‘contributions according to their poten-
tial and by relogating them to inferior
status and second-class citizenship?
‘The critique of society from a femi
nist viewpoint has placed particular
emphasis on the psychological oppres-
sion of women, pointing to the damage
they have suffered in regard to self-
‘concept, identity formation, intllec-
tual development and aspirations,
and overall emotional well-being as a
result of the socialization they have
undergone and the sociopolitical status
assigned them? Although one of the
‘early targets of feminist criticism was
Freudian psychotherapy. all. psychol-
ogy and psychotherapy, including that
practiced as part of social work, has
come increasingly under fire as being
dominated by males and as adhering
to a standard of mental health deter
mined by males: In the early 1970s,
many in the mental health fild began
to respond, sometimes. disparagingly,
at other times, positively, t0 the criti
cisms leveled by feminists.® Those who
responded positively began to develop
and publish new models for working
eee
United
‘counseling, and transition houses, dis-
covering ways of modifying therapy
and women’s experiences in therapy,
utifizing referral services, and calling
for a new psychology of women.
Feminist therapy developed out of
the responses of the mental. health
field to feminist criticism and the
search by feminists for alternatives 10,
therapy.
In April 1973 an advertisement of-
tain, omnis therapy appeared ae
‘Ms, magazine. Three years later, de-
scriptions such as “ferninist therapist”
or “feminist psychotherapy" appeared
in half the advertisements listed in Me.
for therapists and therapy referral
services. Feminists in many major eit.
ies across the country had established
referral services for feminist therapy.?
However, despite this evidence that
something referred to as feminist ther-
apy exists (at least to the extent that
there are women who label themselves
as feminist therapists and their work
as feminist therapy), discussion of
what feminist therapy is and of what
feminist therapists doin practice is
absent from the literature, particularly
from academic and professional
journals,
Generally speaking, definitions of
feminist therapy that do appear in the
litereture are vague, For example,
Walstedt defines a feminist psyeho-
therapist simply as “someone who sup-
Ports and understands the desire for
female equality,” and Silveira explains
that feminist therapy is “counseling
Which affirms women's liberation and
proceeds without power differentials
between counselor and counseled.” *
With the exception of the recently
Published work of the Washington,
D.C. Feminist Counseling Collective,
‘most descriptions of feminist therapy
jn the literature of a professional,
popular, or “underground” nature are
largely hypothetical and nonspecific?
Although significant agreement can
be found regarding certain basic as
sumptions—in particular regarding
those forming the basis of the feminist
critique of society and psychotherapy—and their operationalization, much
(of the literature to date on feminist
therapy has essentially consisted of
position statements and has remained
tunpublished. The majority of those
writings that have appeared in print
have been published in various non-
academic, feministoriented newspa-
pers and magazines."°
RESEARCH DESIGN
In short, it appeared to the author
that no systematic study based on a
formal sampling of those actually en-
‘gaged in feminist therapy had been
undertaken to determine specifically
the nature and definition of such thet-
apy. In response, in the spring of 1974
she initiated a research study designed
to explore this newly emerging field.
‘The goal of the research was to char-
acterize feminist therapy by drawing
4 profile of its theoretical perspectives
and the nature of its practice and by
describing feminist. therapists. The
study was deliberately exploratory in
nature and was not designed to test
any hypotheses, measure the validity
of feminist therapy or any of the as-
sumptions on which it is based, or
compare it to other forms of therapy.
Rather, it was designed to answer five
basic questions about feminist
therapy:
1. Who are feminist therapists?
2, How do feminist therapists de-
fine feminism?
3. What is feminist therapy?
4. How do feminist therapists per-
ceive therapeutic issues and. incorpo-
rate them into therapy?
5. How do feminist therapists per
ceive feminist issues and incorporate
‘them into therapy?
This article reports some of the find-
ings relating to the frst and third ques-
3s posed.
12 study assumed that a natural
helping network, or “natural system
lof service delivery,” existed within the
feminist movement.!" An initial pro-
cess of systematically making contact
with and moving through this network
in three major metropolitan areas on
the West Coast—Portland, Seattle,
‘and the San Francisco Bay Area—
generated a potential sample frame of
448
175 therapists, each of whom was sent
fa questionnaire to determine self-iden-
tification as a feminist therapist. The
‘questionnaire also asked for data
about the respondents and their work.
‘The return rate on the questionnaires
was 77 percent. Seventy-eight percent
fof those who returned the question-
naire identified themselves as femin-
ist therapists. As this process was
taking place, the author obtained the
names of 98 more people who might
bbe feminist therapists, but these indi
viduals were not sent questionnaires
because of time constraints, ‘The pri
mary information for analysis was
then collected by conducting struc-
tured interviews with a random sam-
ple of 19 (approximately 20 percent)
‘of those who considered themselves
feminist therapists. The interviews
were tape-recorded and_ transcribed,
and their contents were then analyzed
for the purpose of delineating issues,
identifying areas of consensus and dis-
agreement, and characterizing cluster-
ings of responses and belief systems
within the population. To the degree
that the sample frame is representative
‘of the population of feminist thera-
pists in Portland, Seattle, and the Bay
‘Area—which it was designed to be—
the study findings about feminist the
apy as it is practiced at this point in
its development in these three areas
fon the West Coast represent state-
‘ments capable of being generalized
FEMINIST THERAPISTS
Descriptive information regarding
feminist therapists was derived from
fan analysis of the questionnaires re-
turned by all members of the sample
frame and from answers to the inter
view question, “Did you become a
fetminist fist and then a therapist, of
fa therapist fist and then a feminist?”
(Of the 273 potential feminist thera-
pists generated, only four were males,
and only one of these four identified
himself as a feminist therapist. As gen-
eralized from the analysis of the ques-
tionnaires, a “typical” feminist thera-
pist is a woman living in the Bay Area
who is most likely an MSW in prac:
tice five years and who works full
time, either in private practice or for
eee
1 public agency such as a community
‘mental health clinic. She sees clients,
particularly women, both individually
and in groups, specializes in some 3s-
pects of women's problems, and bases
her work on either an eclectic or @
gestalt theoretical orientation. How-
ever, this characterization does. not
indicate the degree to which feminist
therapists differ from one another
within the bounds of these generaliza-
tions of the extent to which the diver-
sity found among them consistently
takes avant-garde rather than tradi-
tional forme.
For example, when the respondents
wore asked to describe their theoretical
orientation, 33 different orientations
were listed, Twenty-four of these (73
percent) can be characterized as newly
developing and nontraditional in. na-
ture, In keeping with this, the thera-
pists in the sample were engaged more
‘often in private practice than in work-
ing for a public or private agency.
‘And although the master's degree in
social work is the degree most com-
monly held by the therapists in the
sample (36 percent), a significant
number of respondents did not make
tase of formal academic training in
traditional fields such as psychology
and social work to learn therapy.
Nevertheless, certain common ele-
‘ments emerge in the interviews from
the personal histories of the respon-
dents regarding their development as
feminists and therapists, These ele-
ments pertain to the way in which
the respondents began to identify with
feminism, and the commonalities they
share are particulary striking because
fan identification with feminists was
not something taught to those in the
sample in any school or advanced to
them by any one leader. Rather, these
therapists explained that they em-
braced feminism because its message
had relevance for them, because it
reduced their feelings of isolation and
provided them with support and a
sense of identification with other
‘women, and, perhaps most important,
because incorporating feminism into
their awareness had a profound im-
pact not only on their consciousness
‘but also on their lives. Most of the
therapists traced their identifiestion
Soctst. Work / Novemoen 1977ta feminism as a group: but for each
‘one, identification was an individual
process. Similarly, it seems that the
respondents became feminist. thera-
pists in much the same way, finding
as individuals ther own ways in which
to combine feminism and therapy.
Whether an individual was a feminist
who learned to conduct therapy or
therapist who identified with feminism,
her feminist beliefs had an impact on
her therapeutic orientation, and vice
versa, In short, a meshing took place
whereby feminism and therapy a0
longer existed as discrete parts of the
individuals life but became integrated
into feminist therapy.
DESCRIPTIONS OF THERAPY
‘Questions regarding the nature of fem-
inist therapy were the broadest and
most open-ended in the interviews,
and they elicited descriptions of rela
tively amorphous concepts and behav-
fors dificult for any therapist to spec-
ly. The questions included queries
such as “What do you do with your
feminism in therapy?” and “What do
you think a person gets from you that
she wouldn't get from someone who
isn't a feminist therapist?”
‘As feminist therapists describe fem-
init therapy, they basically seem to
be saying, “I am a feminist. Out of
‘my feminism comes for me certain
values, beliefs, and ways of perceiving
and acting that T integrate, build on,
and utilize in the therapy f do." The
‘essence of their value system as they
escribe it consists of a belief in the
Potential of women (which can be
referred to as feminist humanism) and
fan awareness of how this potential has.
been thwarted by the prevalence in
society of stereotyped sex roles (Which
can be referred fo as feminist con-
sciousness). The feminist humanism
‘and feminist consciousness its practi-
toners bring to bear on the therapeu-
tic process make feminist therapy what
it is and differentiate it from other
therapies. For purposes of presenting
he study findings about the nature of
feminist therapy, its components (as
delineated by feminist therapists) were
Twonas / Feminist Therapy
therapists interviewed described actv-
ites that fell into the category: fem-
inist humanism (16), feminist con-
sciousness (16), changes in the tradi-
tional relationship between therapist
and client (16), consciousnes-raising
(10), and emphasis on the common-
ality’ characterizing the experiences
women undergo (9)
FEMINISM IN THERAPY
Feminist humanism essentially con-
sists of belief in the potential of
women and in each woman's knowing
‘what she wants and what is best for
her. Out of these beliefs comes a desire
to free women of roles that prohibit
‘them from realizing their individual
potential. Feminist therapists believe
that a major difference between them-
selves and other therapists has to do
with their way of looking at women
and men and at each individual's po-
tential. They see this difference a
centering on the depth and degree
of their commitment to equality be-
tween the sexes, to freedom from sex-
role stereotypes, and to a person’s—
‘especially a woman's—right to self
actualization without having to grap-
ple with restrictions stemming from
preconceived sexual (or any other)
roles. They feel that other therapists
are influenced by certain stereotypes
and values regarding so-called appro-
priate behaviors, lifestyles, interests,
roles, and directions for growth and
change for each sex. As one therapist
who was interviewed sai
1 think that perhaps more than most
people, Tm wiling to Jet women that
T see... be women however they
want to be. [ think Tm more wiling
to let the definition of “what is a
woman’ be wider
Feminist therapists see themselves
as being supportive to women and as
siving them permission to act in ways
denied them by adherence to tradi
tional sex roles, such as being asser-
tive, making nonstereotypical life deci-
sions, developing equality in the divi
sion of tasks in their relationships,
eee
ting in touch with their needs and
taking the actions necessary to meet
them, feeling their own strength and
power, and becoming their own per-
son. A number of therapists spoke in
particular of using their feminist hu-
‘manism in therapy by presenting
themselves as positive models for their
clients. That is, they behaved in ways:
assertive, sexual, independent, and
supportive of feminism—against which
women are generally conditioned, One
therapist felt that model
‘most important way in which she
brought her feminism to bear while
conducting therapy: “I'm living fem-
inism and sharing it with my clients
as 'm living it”
Coupled with the feminist human-
ism of such therapists is their fem
consciousness and feminist framework,
which are revealed in a particular sen-
sitivity to and understanding of the
problems women bring to therapy, the
experience of being a woman, and the
limitations that stereotypical sex rotes
have historically placed on women and
‘continue to place on their achievement
of selfactualization. Feminist thers-
pists assert that their feminism causes
them to adopt a different, more en-
compassing frame of reference from
which to approach what a client says
and has experienced, This frame of
reference includes not only the tradi-
tional forms of assessment but also
‘an emphasis on the psychological ef-
fects on women of social conditioning,
sex roles, and secondary status. These
therapists fee! that because they have
more understanding and awareness of
the problems a woman may be expe-
riencing, they are less likely to dis
count her problems or perceptions as
inconsequential, not real, oF less. im-
portant than her husband's and more
likely to appreciate what she is saying,
question certain of her initially stated
oals, and take seriously the pressures
imposed on her by society.
From their own experiences as
women, feminist therapists offer fe-
male clients validation of what they
hhave experienced, Similarly, from their
feminist consciousness these therapists
offer clients @ social context and sense
49,ae es
“feminist therapists argue that unless therapists are particularly
sensitive to feminist issues or committed to feminism, a certain
amount of bias will exist in their therapy, no matter how humanistic
they perceive themselves as being.”
‘of reality enabling them to understand
their perceptions and experiences bet-
ter. One therapist expressed this point
in the following way:
I think they get [from me) someone
‘who has a clearer, more complete pic
ture of what our social. structure
like. Anybody who isn'ta feminist and
doesn't have that kind of awareness,
regardless of how they've labeled them-
aclves,... does’t have as complete a
picture of our culture and what it does
to women and how outside pressures,
situational things, and historical things
have contributed to the elieat’s psy
chodynamics [as I do]. So [the client)
sets, I think, a better clinician in me,
‘Therapists interviewed also indicated
it was less likely that women being
treated by them would be subjected in
therapy fo the kind of oppression ex-
perienced by other women whose ther-
‘pists were not feminists. They main-
tained that a therapist who did not
share the feminist consciousness would
respond to a female client in much
the same way that the culture as a
‘whole responds to women. One thera-
pist, for example, commented in this
way:
If you have any Kind of prejudive, it
gets communicated. . . . At the most
ublle level you just don't pick up
things that someone else who wasn't
prejudiced would pick up. One of the
faeues that therapists deal with all the
time is that of people trying to decide
whether or not to stay in their marriage.
Tt seems to me thatthe traditional view
is very committed to marriage, at the
fexpente of the woman's Identity. 15
fever at the expense of the man's iden
tity. With the best of intentions and the
beat of theories, if somebody hhas that
Kind of bias, on an unconscious lev
it gets communicated. Thats something
wwe all have to strugele with, You're
{aught not to valve Women as much a5
‘men, and the more you are caught in
that, the less you can help your patients
set through it
450
In short, feminist therapists argue that
unless therapists are particularly sen-
sitive to feminist issues or committed
to feminism, a certain amount of bias
will exist in their therapy, no matter
how humanistic they perceive them-
selves as being.
‘THERAPIST AND CLIENT
‘Therapists interviewed indicated that
they had made certain changes in their
practice in the traditional relationship
between therapist and client. In gen-
‘eral, three areas of change were men-
tioned: changes in the therapis’s role,
changes in the focus of therapy toward
action rather than introspection, and
changes in orientation, expressed in
negative altitudes toward long-term
therapy.
‘Changes in the therapist’s role were
‘mentioned most frequently. Two types
‘of changes were described. The first
pertained to ways in which feminist
therapists perceive or deal with the
power imbalance often evident in the
therapist-client relationship. These
therapists attempt to foster equality
or mutuality in the relationships they
have with their clients and to break
down the hierarchy of power they
perceive as operational in traditional
forms of therapy. They view them-
selves as sensitive to the ways in which
they may abuse their power as thera-
pists, such as by diagnosing unneces-
sarily, making decisions or interpreta-
tions for clients, staying aloof from
clients in the security of the therapist's
role, or discounting the impact that
the power imbalance between therapist
and client has on the therapeutic rela-
tionship. In the study interviews, they
presented a number of ways in wl
they attempt to lessen the power im-
balance between themselves and a
client. Some discussed limiting the
potentially oppressive power of the
eee
therapist by focusing on the power
that the client has in the therapeutic
relationship. Many feminist therapists
see women as being out of touch with
their personal (and collective) power
and then turning their frustration into
“whining and tears and cating too
moch and pills that dull aware-
ness” rather than into action. If, in
her relationship with her therapist, the
client is given responsibility for her-
self and is encouraged to get in touch
with her feelings, take charge of her
life, and be aware of the process by
which she relinquishes her power and
allows others to be powerful over her,
she can begin to reclaim her power.
When this happens, the therapist be-
ccomes less a leader or director and
more a vehicle or catalyst for change.
With regard to this, one therapist made
the following comments:
see my whole job... fas making)
women take responsibility [for them-
selves], so that they can say “yes” and
no" Tearn how to ask for what they
‘want, and learn how to get in touch
with themselves, If they say they don't
want fo get info something, Tl honor
that, If T have some feelings or some
Ibunches about that, TH say so; but Ym
not going to say, “hey, you're avoid:
ing,” Hike T know best, oF better than
they do. . .. {Tm} also noninterprete
tive. No way would Tsay... “I know
‘what this means and you don't.”
These therapists, then, consciously re-
fuse to accept power that clients give
away of project onto them—"When
the client gives me power, I give it
back.” Another therapist’ explained
that increasingly she was turning the
responsibilty for problem-solving away
from herself and back to the other
women in the groups she conducted
“The therapists interviewed also gave
examples of more direct means by
which they make certain they and
their clients are on a more equal foot
ing. Contracts were mentioned in this
regard as a way to limit the therapist's
power to areas negotiated between
herself and the client. When therapist
‘and cliont agree to a contract, the
goals of both individuals involved are
overt rather than covert, and the thera-
pists power to conduct the therapy in
accordance with unstated ideas about
Soctat, Work / NoveMen 1977study spoke of reducing the discrep-
‘ancy in power held by themselves and
their clients by demystifying their
therapeutic skills. They described “let-
ting clients in on what's going on” by
sharing with them their own percep-
tions about the direction in which the
therapy is moving, outlining the pos-
sible effects of a particular technique
‘and their rationale for suggesting it,
and respecting a client's decision re-
garding whether she wants to go ahead
‘with a form of treatment or not, Four
other therapists discussed their use of
less emotive therapy in favor of ther-
apy oriented toward problem-solving,
of increased personal contact with
their clients, of self-disclosure to de-
‘mystify the aura surrounding them-
selves as therapists, and of attempts
fo enter the therapeutic relationship
more as a person and less as a thera-
pist. One therapist described such at-
tempts in this way:
{A client said something to me that I
could have dealt with as a “therapist”
but didn't... . T didn't just want to
Jabel it transference [right away], ever
though it seemed Tike that's what it
was. So I checked... out where 1
was... to see where T stood and if]
Twas doing what she accused me of.
T think that a feminist therapist
would... be much more willing to
{ake responsitility for her part in some
thing and not just chalk i up to some
thing else. [$0] I don't approach every-
thing therapeutically... but) more as
me, jst asa person fo a person rather
than as a therapist to a person.
‘The second type of change many
feminist therapists spoke of making in
the role as therapist involved the de-
liberate use of themselves—that is, of
their values and their experiences-—in
conducting therapy. One of them ex-
plained this point in the following
way’
One of the things that I fect is very
important... as a feminist therapist
isto share yoursel. I feo i's important
{to not put myself up oF to come off as
somebody who's better than or more
together than [my cllets}. That's not
where T am, 'm very much info shar
ing where T am and what's going on
with me, as well as having the person
Tuomas / Feminist Therapy
‘es very important to not project a tot
‘of power onto the therapist or [onto]
the tole of the therapist.
In addition to sharing with her clients
examples of the sexism she has experi-
enced, one therapist also shared her
positive experiences as a feminist with
them as a conscious form of role
modeling:
share} what it means for me to be 2
feminist and how I consider that to be
‘growing, dynamic thing in terms of
my ever-changing life... . 1 share
hhow] my feminism enables me to see
myself a5 a dynamic, growing person
and not a static person, and how that
allects my emotional life, my profes-
sional life, my personal life, even my
physical life
Most of the therapists who spoke of
stating their feminist values during the
course of therapy did so in the con-
tent of explaining its usefulness in the
therapeutic encounter. As they de-
scribe their values to a client, a pro-
cess of negotiation, interchange, ot
working out a contract takes place,
As indicated earlier, such negotiations
are designed to change the balance of
power in the therapeutic relationship.
The other area of change men-
tioned by feminist therapists as relat
ing to the traditional therapist-client
relationship had to do with focusing
‘on action more than on awareness of
introspection (or focusing on a coup
ing of the two), with the result that
the duration of therapy is shortened,
‘These therapists were particularly con-
cerned with the development of alte
natives to therapy within the women’
‘movement, and they explained that
they encourage their clients to set up
Women’s support groups for them-
selves outside therapy. One of the
‘ways in which they do this is by mak-
ing a point of obtaining and then giv-
their clients information about
various women's groups in the com-
munity, to a much greater extent than
they fee! nonfeminist therapists would.
‘The goal of their efforts in this regard
is to move their clients through ther-
apy and into the larger support system
of the feminist community as rapidly
8 possible—or at least to help them
eee
ao
“Unlike most forms of therapy, fem-——
inist therapy isnot merely a means
to be used from time to time to-al-
leviate stress but away of life...”
lationship to become another area in
which women remain in a dependent
role for long periods of time.
interviewee’s ultimate goal as a fem-
inist therapist was to see the women
she worked with become feminists
themselves and work for societal
change:
If they become feminists themselves,
they will Tove to be with ciher women,
and will support other women, and will
be involved in women’s. groups, and
will try to further the cause of women,
‘which is my goal—not an individual
solution, but a total change of the
system,
CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING
Over half the therapists interviewed
described as part of feminist therapy
behaviors that basically constitute con-
sciousness-raising, That i, they involve
making women aware of the existence
of sexerole stereotyping and sex-role
oppression and the effects of social
influences on their personal expeti-
ence. These behaviors are based on
the idea that relearning precedes be-
hhavioral change in the individual,
Some therapists make their clients
‘more aware by asking them questions
phrased to expose entrenched stereo-
‘typical assumptions that the clients
hhave unquestioningly accepted. One
therapist described these questions. in
this way:
think there are a lot of questions that
‘an be raised... When women come
jin and talk abovt their tives. - and
they talk about where they have been,
Tl say something to them to the effect
of, "Did you feel like you were doing
what was expected of you at that
point?” They'll say, “Well, of course,"
and It say, “Was that your decision
‘oF somebody else's decision? And how
o you feel about that?” . which
‘ay Tead into {my saying), “OK. Who
454‘are you? What do you want to do?”
‘and “Tt sounds to me like you've been
‘spending your life trying to meet other
people's needs, Have you ever sat
down and thought about what your
‘own needs sre?" These questions lead
into discussions about being 2 woman
and what women are expected to do—
ta make sure to meet fother] people's
needs.
[As the'therapists ask questions, they
are at the same time modeling ques-
tioning behavior and giving their cli-
ents permission to ask questions of
them and of society as wel
Other feminist therapists reported
that in the course of therapy they dis-
‘cussed the societal influences they per-
ceive as having an impact on their
clients. One therapist described how
she incorporates into therapy her own
‘rowing awareness of society's infiu-
ences on women:
ve become much more aware of the
societal influences on women, and 1
bring that into what I do . . . aot only
in working with an individual woman's
intrapsychic. processes but in dealing
‘with the effect of the culture on women.
Sometimes women will say they"
afraid of men, 1 ued to interpret that
‘as a totaly individual thing, that the
‘woman's own personal histery alone
had contributed to making her afreid—
her father was punitive, and s0 on
But if you look at the farger societal
envelope that goes around that, every
‘woman is afraid of men, and they have
2 Tot of reatons to be afraid of them.
So that [perspective] gets pointed out
at the same time that the individual
[perspective] does.
EMPHASIS ON UNITY
For nine therapists, part of feminist
therapy is giving a female client a
sense of her unity and commonality
with other women. Some therapists do
this in conjunction with consciousness.
raising. In presenting the broader cul-
tural perspective of how a woman's
personal experience is often a condi-
tioned social experience, the goal of
these therapists is to break down the
isolation many women feet regarding
the problems they bring to therapy and
to promote in them a sense of unity
with other women, One therapist de-
seribed how she accomplishes this dur-
ing therapy
452
H.do} a lot of reflecting back initially
to check and see where their
fvarensss is. Are they really aware
that what they'e saying is that some of
‘these psychological problems have
come about because of their status as
‘women and the fact that they've been
discriminated against, and not just be-
cause of the sadness of human experi
fences and the existential situation—but
because as women they have experi
enced some real hardship and diserim-
ination.
‘As they become ava of that, T give
them support... . [tell this to women
over and over again: “I see women in
therapy: I work with women’s groups;
Ttalk to women’s organizations; and 1
want you to know that's one of the
most common complaints I hear. You
hhave sisters all over saying the same
thing you'e saying and they all thought
they were alone too." 1 [want] to let
these women Know that even if they
[feel] isolated because they have no
social skills, because they fee! they're
Only housewives, or whatever, they're
not alone.
Another therapist uses self-disclosure
fas the means by which she breaks
ddown her clients’ sense that they have
rot experienced discrimination or op-
pression as women, As she relates her
‘experiences, her clients realize that
what she has been describing has been
true for them as well. Other feminist
therapists promote their clients’ sense
‘of community with other women by
encouraging the women in the groups
they conduct to share with, feel a
tunity with, and support and nurture
each other and to break down the
traditional mistrust, competitiveness,
‘and hatred they have been conditioned
to feel with respect to other women,
Just being in a group with other
women who have similar problems
(particularly problems of a sexual na-
ture) sometimes helps female clients
feel less isolated and less of the stigma
attached to being 2 woman,
DISCUSSION
Ifa theoretical orientation to therapy is
defined in the traditional sense as en-
‘compassing a series of propositions
land techniques, a: mode! for problem
assessment, and a training methodol
ogy, it may be concluded from the
eee
responses given by the sample of fem-
inist therapists described here that fom-
inist therapy as such does not exist,
However, there are therapists who
have incorporated feminism into their
therapy and who call themselves fem-
inist therapists. This suggests that fem-
init therapy must be understood more
as part of a social movement than as
a type of psychotherapy and less as
f theoretical orientation in the tradi-
tional sease than as a belief system
and a number of ways in which that
system is put into practice. Is strik-
ing that with none of the accoutre-
ments of most therapies in evidence—
without 2 feminist therapy journal,
numerous training seminars, and a
prominent leader or mentor in the
field-—~and despite numerous. differ-
ences in theory and practice, the
similarities among feminist therapists
jn three metropolitan areas, each io
a different state, are still pronounced,
‘As feminist therapists describe femi-
nist therapy, it seems to be based on
three components that are intertwined:
first, a belief system composed of fem.
inist humanism and feminist con-
sciousness, the two complementary
parts of the feminist value system; see-
fond, a therapist-client relationship that
renders the therapeutic process com-
patible with the feminist value system;
and third, two processes—conscious-
ness-raising and placing emphasis on
the commonality shared by all women
—that enable the feminist value sys-
tem to be witilized not only by the
therapist but to be transferred in turn
totheclient.
There is a high degree of interrela-
tion between the values of feminist
therapists and the ways in which they
incorporate them into therapy. For
‘example, feminist therapists indicate
they ask their clients certain kinds of
questions about roles and role behav-
jor that are designed to break down
their acceptance of sex-role_stereo-
types, and they also encourage the
women they see similarly to question
these sexist assumptions. In this con
text, asking questions of clients and
‘encouraging them to ask questions can
be viewed as a therapeutic technique,
However, such behavior also repre-
Soctat Wonk / Novemuen 1977‘value because ferminists feel itis
portant for women to look critically
at previously unquestioned roles and
stereotypes, Similarly, feminist ther-
pists frequently mention the value
they attach to being honest and open
about their views, However, the pro-
cess of being honest and open in
sharing and clarifying their values be-
comes in tura a means by which they
model this behavior for their clients
and bring into question unexamined
values or assumptions a client may
hold. The difficulty in separating val-
ues from such a process in feminist
therapy says a great deal about this
form of therapy. It reflects the con-
gruence found and emphasized in
feminist therapy between the ther
apis’s values and the therapeutic pro-
cess and the therapist's professional
and personal life
Feminist therapists use their value
system in what may be a unique way,
namely, as a consciously acknowl
‘edged filter. As a client speaks, the
therapist brings to bear an added
pperspective—her feminism—on what
she hears. In other words, what these
‘therapists hear a client say has already
been filtered through and heightened
by their feminist humanism and fem-
‘nist consciousness, which have given
them another perspective on the cli-
‘ent’s potential for self-actualization,
the roles she has assumed, the nature
and causes of her problems, and the
social structure that influences her
After input from the client passes
through the filter of their feminism,
such therapists then rely on their theo:
retical orientation, whatever it may be,
to choose an appropriate therapeutic
response or technique, Their belief in
feminism, however, has already influ-
enced their choice. They will respond
in a way that breaks down hierarchy:
and establishes mutuality in the ther-
spist-lient relationship. Furthermore,
the techniques ltimately chosen by
the feminist therapist are less impor-
fant to her than the shift in values
hat was engendered by her feminist
belies.
Finally, approximately half the fem-
inist therapists interviewed mentioned
‘TnoMas / Feminist Therapy
‘twined activites undertaken with cli
ents as a way of bringing feminism to
bear in their therapy. These activities
in essence are designed to change the
client's perceptions by heightening her
consciousness, which in turn affects
hher manner of relating to and identi
fying with other women.
CONCLUSION
Beginning with their efforts to inte-
‘grate two important parts of their lives
—their feminism and their therapy—
the feminist therapists interviewed
hhave continually striven to make their
actions congruent with their beliefs.
Integration is, in fact, the making of
‘multiple connections, and. femini
and feminist therapy can be seen a
the making of connections on many
levels—connections between feminism
and therapy, between one woman and
all women, between one's personal
problems and one's social awareness,
between one’s beliefs and what one
does, and between what one does ia
therapy and how one lives one’s life.
Thus, unlike most forms of therapy,
feminist therapy is not merely a means
to be used from time to time to al-
Teviate stress but a way of life for
‘the therapist and, potentially, for the
client as well. Therapy becomes nor-
‘malized and is connected to rather
than divided from everyday life.
In its beginnings, feminist therapy
seems to have developed as an anti-
thesis to what feminists found hurtful,
oppressive, and destructive in the
male-dominated institution of tradi-
tional therapy. Tt was begun, in short,
‘out of attempts to make it different
from something rather than attempts
to create something in and of itself
However, as more therapists and fem-
inists seek to connect feminism with
therapy and to remove sexism and
traditional abuses of power from ther-
apy, as they meet with each other in
peer consultations, publish books and
articles, and develop training models
and systems of referral, more becomes
clear about this form of therapy. It is
becoming easier to identify what fem-
eee
inist therapy is, what the besic areas
‘of consistency and inner congruity
‘among feminist therapists are, what
istinguishes feminist therapy
other therapies, and how feminist ther-
piss differ from cach other, As fem-_
inist therapists continue to work
tomard bailing common theoretical
bases and develop new ways of inte
rating feminism and therapy, fem-,
inist therapy will increasingly emerge
asa distinctive therapeutic form, And
88 more professionals become fem
init therapists and more feminist
learn therapeutic skills, feminist there
apy will have aa increasing impact on
the institution of therapy and on the
lives of women.
Firestone, The Dialect
of Sex: The Case for Femiist Revolion
(New York: Bantam Books, 1970) p. 15.
See, for example, Simone de Beau.
voit, The Second Sex (New York: Bans
tam Books, 1952); Jo Freeinan, The
Women's Liberation Movement: ie Ort
gins, Structures and Ideals (Pittsburgh: |
KNOW, Inc, 1970); and Betty Frieden,
The Feminine Mysique (New York: Dell
Publishing Co, 1963)
3. See, for example, Phyllis Chester,
Women and Madness Rew York: Avo
Boots, 1972); Jo. Freeman, The Social
‘Construction of the Second Sex (Pitts
burgh! KNOW, Tne, 1970); and Mating
Horner, “The Motive o Avoid Success
and Changing Aspirations of College |
Women” in Jodi M, Bardvick, ed,
Readings om the Prychology of Women
(ew York: Harper & Row, 1972), pp.
2-61 |
4. See, for example, Ingo Broverman
et al., “Sex-Role Stereotypes and Clinical”
Jadgiets of Mental Health.” Journal of
Consulng and Clinic Psychology, 34
(February 1970), pp. 1-7; Chesley op.
cit; Joyce Walstedt, The Anatomy of
Opprestion: A Feminist Anayss of Pay
chotherapy ‘(Pitsburgh: KNOW, Inc, _
1971); and Judith L. Yurmatk, “The Role
of Women in Social Casework Literature
fnd Te Relation to Psychoanalytic The:
‘ores of Female Paychalogy” MSW the-
sis, Smith Coleg School for Socal Work,
192, abstracted in Smith Coleg Studies
in Sociol Work, 43 (November 1972),
Pp. 884,
5. For examples of the more dspar-
aging respons, see Ruth Moulton, "Psj-
shoanalytie Reflections on Women's Lib-
453emtion” Contemporary Prychoanalysis, ets Training,” Counseling Paychotogit,
(1972), pp. 197-225; and. "Special 4 (1973), pp. 75-86, See abo Annette
‘Symposium: The Mental Health Move- Brodsky, "The Consciousnes-Raising 9, Washington, D.C, Feminist Coun-
iment Meets Womer's Lib,” Mental Hy- Group as a Model of Therapy f0% seling Collective, “Feminist Psychother
{Hene, 58 (January 1971), pp. 1-9. For Women,” Peychotherapy: Theory, Re- apy," Social Policy, 6 (Seplember-Oct0-
fzamples of the more pose responses, search ond Practice, 10 (Spring 1973), er 1975), pp. 54-82
fee Carol Barret et aly “Implications ofp. 24-29; Alice Krakauer, “A Good "19. Sec, for example, Taie Dejanikus
‘Women’s Liberaion and the Future of Therapist Is Hard 19 Find." Ms, 1 (Oc- and Fran Poller, "Feminist Counseling,”
Paychotherapy,” Peychotherapy: Theory, tober 1972), pp. 33-35; Anica Vesel Rough Times, 4. (March-Apul-May
Research en Practice, 2 (Spring 1974), Mander and Aane Kent Rush, Feminism” gry. pp. 10-12; Diane Mavieeild and
pp. 11-15; Barbara Stevens, “The Psy: as Therany (Berkeley, Calif: Bookworks, Jey.” Wiliams, “Feminist. Therapist a3
Shoherapist and. Women's Liberation,” 1974); Anne Kent Rush, Geiting Clear’ Vane Willane, “Fernie! Themes a
Social Work, 16 July 1971), pp. 12-18; Body Work for Women (Berkeley, Cait: MUlwite” RT: 4 fowna! of Radia
nd Carol Wesley, “The Women's Move: Bookworks, 1973); and Jeannette Silveira, Therapy, (Desember 1974), p. 6: and
tment and Prychoiherapy.” Social Work, The Effect of Sexism on Thought: How Bat Webbink, "A Feminist "Therapist
5. Walstedt, op. cit; and Silveira, op.
20 (March 1975), pp. 120-124 Male Bias Hurts Psychology and Some 8 Our Backs, 3 (February-March
6. See, for example, Betty Kronsky, Hopes for a Woman's Psychology (Pitts: 1973), P. 2
“Feminism and Psychotherapy,” Journal burgh: KNOW, Ine. 1972). 11. Alice Collins, “Natural Delivery
of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 3 7. Gersten Grimstad and Susan Ren- Systems: Accessible Sources of Power for
(Spring 1971), pp. 89-98; and Patricia nic, cus, The New Woman's Survival Mental Health,” American Journal of
JakubowskiSpector, “Facilitating the Sourcebook (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Orthopsychiatry, 43 January 1973), pp.
Growth of Women Through Assertive- 1975), p 60. 46-92. 4
SAFEGUARD
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underwritten by American Home Assurance Company. Social service agencies that meet the pro-
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Malpractice suits against agencies and helping professionals have increased alarmingly in re-
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454 Soctat, Work / Novemoen 1977
eee