Feminist Theory
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| Carolyn Zerbe Enns, PhD |
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| Laura S. Brown, PhD |
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| Jean Baker Miller, MD |
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| Olivia M Espin, PhD |
The feminist theory has been developed in a grassroots manner, responding to challenges and to the emerging needs of women. There is no single individual that can be identified as the founder; it is more of a feminist collaboration of these and more women.
What is it?
The constructs of the feminist therapy include being gender fair, flexible, engaging in interactions, and life-span oriented. Gender and power are the heart of feminist therapy. It is an approach that recognizes the cultural, social, and political factors that contribute to an individual's problems. These techniques can be applied to both men and women with the goal of bringing about empowerment.
Key Concepts
- Personal is Political
- Therapists have a commitment to social change
- Women's voices and ways of knowledge are valued
- Women's experiences are honored
- The counseling relationship is egalitarian
- Therapy focuses on strengths and refined definitions of distress
- All types of oppression are recognized
Goals of Therapy
A transformation in the individual client and in society. To help clients to recognize, claim, and use their personal power to free themselves from the gender-role socialization limitations. Also confrontation of all institutional policies that discriminate or oppress on any basis or idea.
Therapists Role
The therapist must create a relationship with their client based on empowerment and egalitarianism. Self-disclosure in the feminist theory is necessaary to break down the barriers and boundaries that may seem to be present. The goal is to create a collaborative relationship in which clients can become their own expert.
Techniques of Therapy
- Gender-role Analysis and Intervention
- Power Analysis and Intervention
- Demystifying Therapy
- Bibliotherapy
- Journal Writing
- Therapist Self-Disclosure
- Assertiveness Training
- Reframing and Relabeling
- Cognitive Restructuring
- Identifying and Challenging untested beliefs
- Role Playing
- Psychodramatic Methods
- Group Work
- Social Action
Postmodern Therapy
Steve de Shazer (1940-2005) and Insoo Kim Berg (1935-2007)
Steve de Shazer was the pioneer of solution-based brief therapy. His collaboration with Insoo Kim Berg's development of the solution-focused approach was the ground work for postmodern therapy and the idea that there are multiple realities and multiple truths.
What is it?
The postmodern approach to therapy rejects the idea that reality is external and can be grasped. This therapy is based on the premise that there are multiple realities and truths. People create meaning in their lives through conversations with others. This approach avoids pathologizing the client, look dimly towards diagnoses, avoids searching for an underlying problem, and place a high value of focusing on the strengths and resources of the client. Creating solutions for the present and the future is the main focus of this therapy. This therapy is well suited for people with adjustment disorders and for problems of anxiety and depression. Postmodern approach can be applied to working with children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and the community in a wide variety of settings.
Key Concepts
- Therapy is brief and addresses the present
- The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem
- Therapy is a collaborative dialogue of co-creating solutions
- Clients create new meaning for themselves by identifying when a problem didn't even actually exist
Goals of Therapy
- Change the way a client views a problem and what they can do about the concerns
- Collaboratively establish specific, clear, concrete, realistic, and observable goals leading to positive change
- Help clients create a self-identity grounded on competence and resourcefulness so they can resolve present and future concerns
- Assist clients in viewing their lives in positive ways, rather than being saturated by problems
Therapists Role
Postmodern therapy is based immensely on the collaboration of the therapist and the client. The client is viewed at the expert of their own life. Questioning dialogue helps clients free themselves from their problem-saturated stories and create new life-affirming stories. Solution focused therapists assume and active role in guiding the client away from problem-talk and towards solution-talk. The clients are encouraged to explore their strengths and create solutions that will lead to a richer future.
Techniques of Therapy
- Mostly involves in change-talk with focus on times in the client's life when the problem was not viewed as a problem
- Creative use of questioning
- The miracle question "If you had a magic wand, what would be different?"
- Scaling Questions to encourage alternate solutions
Family Systems
Alfred Adler was the first psychologist or the modern era to do family therapy using a systematic approach.
Marray Bowen was one of the original developers of mainstream family therapy.
Virginia Satir developed conjoint family therapy, a human validation process model that emphasizes communication and emotional experiencing.
What is it?
The family is viewed from an interactive and systemic perspective. Clients are all interconnected in a living system, one singular change will result in a change in the complete system. The family provides context for understanding how individuals function in relationship to others and how they behave. The treatment deals with the family as a whole, while an individual's dysfunction behavior grows out of the family as a whole and out of larger systems beyond the family as well. This therapy is useful for dealing with marital distress, problems of communicating amongst family members, power struggles, crisis situations, helping individuals attain their potential, and enhancing the overall functioning of the family.
Key Concepts
- Communication patterns within a family, both verbal and non-verbal
- Differentiation
- Triangles
- Power Coalitions
- Family-of-origin dynamics
- Functional vs Dysfunctional Interaction Patterns
- Dealing with here-and-now interactions
- The present is more important than exploring past experiences
Goals of Therapy
To help family members gain awareness of patterns of relationships that are not working well and to create new ways of interacting.Therapists Role
The family therapist has many different roles. This therapist functions as a teacher, coach, model, and consultant. The family learns ways to detect and solve problems that are keeping members stuck, and it learns about patterns that have been transmitted from generation to generation. Some approaches focus on the role of therapist as expert; others concentrate on intensifying what is going on in the here and now of the family session. All family therapists are concerned with the process of family interaction and teaching patterns of communication.Techniques of Therapy
A variety of techniques are used, depending on the particular theoretical orientation of the therapist. Techniques include:- Genograms
- Teaching
- Asking Questions
- Joining the Family
- Tracking sequences
- Issuing Directives
- Use of Countertransference
- Family Mapping
- Reframing
- Restructuring
- Enactments
- Setting Boundaries
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