Feminist Family Therapists Research Articles

Dismantling Diet Culture and Sizeism with Families: A Feminist Body Neutral Parenting Group for Collective Healing

ABSTRACT Sizeism is a systemic form of discrimination that devalues one’s inherent worth and personhood based on the size, shape, and weight of their body. Feminist family therapists can support the mental health needs of communities by helping dismantle and heal fatphobic messages and misunderstandings about health. This conceptual article details a group curriculum for a body neutral parenting group that creates space for parents, families, and communities to learn skills and heal from anti-fat bias and related mental health implications. Body neutrality is a concept wherein individuals accept their bodies as a vessel that carries them through life, and as such, do not attach positive or negative feelings to their physicality. In the body neutral parenting group, caregivers can heal from their relationship with food, their body image, and movement, as well as help promote a healthy relationship with food, body, and movement within their children.

Rachel T. Hare-Mustin (1928-2020).

Memorializes Rachel T. Hare-Musitn (1928-2020). She was a distinguished scholar, a pioneering feminist family therapist, and a dedicated leader in the American Psychological Association (APA). Her intellectual legacy includes two books and nearly 120 articles and chapters on professional ethics, gender theory in psychological research, gender relations in contem porary (heterosexual) couples, and feminist critiques of family ther apy theories. She served as president of the American Family Therapy Association (1990-1991). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

An Exploration of Feminist Family Therapists' Resistance to and Collusion with Oppression

In this study, we examine how highly informed therapists who identify as feminist: (a) describe how their feminist identities and ideas about feminism have evolved over time; (b) report stories of their own resistance to gender-based oppression; (c) report stories of their own collusion with the oppression of others; and (d) encourage clients to examine oppression and collusion of oppression of others. The following four categories emerged from our constructivist grounded theory analysis of one-on-one interviews: (a) Development of a Feminist Identity, (b) Strategies of a Feminist Family Therapist, (c) Recognizing Oppression and Injustice, and (d) Resisting: Methods and Consequences.

Calculating All of Our Losses: Writing Real-World Therapy Experiences in Child Welfare

In the child welfare system, child maltreatment prevention and intervention are of primary focus. Yet when working from a multi-systems perspective, both the child and parent systems are of vital importance while aligning with caseworkers goals, and adhering to court orders in a larger community context. Although we adhere to a strengths-based perspective, the systemic narrative of trauma takes precedence over certain progressions within family life. As a result, we provide an autoethnographic account of our experiences as feminist family therapists working with multiple systems and the multiple gains and losses experienced by all involved parties.

An Integrated Feminist Approach to Disordered Eating Intervention in a University Campus Outpatient Setting

The incidence of clinically diagnosable eating disorders continues to rise amongst adolescent and college age adults. Contemporary research suggests that a complexity of factors contribute to eating disorders in women ranging from physiological and biogenetic to socio-cultural and family-based factors. This paper focuses on an intervention program that was developed for women, by feminist family therapists, in an outpatient campus setting. Clients were 30 undergraduate or graduate female students, ranging in age from 18–30. The majority of clients were heterosexual and Caucasian, 20% of the clients were women of color and women who identified as lesbian or in one case, transgendered. An integrated intervention approach coalescing around feminist principles is described and illustrated using a case study.

I Too Am Feminist: The Journey of a Black Male Transformative Feminist Family Therapist

ABSTRACT Working with men in the capacity of as trainee, client or colleague is very challenging. Maintaining mutually beneficial and non-exploitive relationships requires a balance of nurturance and accountability. Through autobiography, self-reflection and critique of family systems training and Africentric thought, this paper provides a framework for supporting men to develop a feminist family therapy ideology. In addition, I introduce the Patriarchy to Partnership Trajectory, a clinical tool and assessment, which can be used to assist men in transforming their lives and establishing equitable and just relationships.

The Morphing of Family Therapy and Family Support

SUMMARY This paper focuses on contemporary British public policy and how social policies and feminist-informed family therapy are influencing and challenging each other. The concept and practice of family support is evaluated in terms of the central political role it fulfils in replicating stereotyped gender roles and normative family constructs. It is argued that family support and family therapy are morphing as government policies encourage more voluntary sector services, presenting feminist family therapists with both challenges and opportunities to influence social policy.

Interview with Dr. Rachel Hare-Mustin

Rachel Hare-Mustin, although an integral part of the family therapy movement, has been as much an outsider as an insideroffering ethical, feminist, and post-modern critiques of family therapy for nearly three decades. She has lived by the Quaker principle, “speak truth to power” and has continuously risked disfavor in the family therapy and psychology fields. She is famous for using her wit to palliate strong statements about therapy, as evidenced in quotable quotes such as, “Don't let worry kill you. Let a therapist help” “Therapy that is not worth doing is not worth doing well” and “There are people who know everything, but that's all they know.” Given her striking integrity and witty style, I was particularly curious to learn about her experiences as one of the earliest feminist family therapists.

Popcorn Moments

Feminist principles are rare in medical education and in the practice of medicine. The authors are feminist family therapists and feminist health communication scholars who are faculty in a department of family medicine. In this paper, they present their use of a feminist perspective and feminist methods in their teaching of family physicians in training. The use of a live supervision practicum, imported from marriage and family therapy training, is described as an example of how feminist family therapists can bring a much-needed but rarely taught perspective to medical education. This perspective represents a paradigm shift away from the traditional model in medicine, one that is based on objectivity and separateness, to a more empathic and connected stance which shifts power in the physician-patient relationship.

Parents as Sexuality Educators

Increasing evidence indicates that children and adolescents ho are informed and educated about issues of sexuality are more likely to be sexually responsible and less likely to put themselves in sexually risky situations. Parents can play a pivotal role in imparting accurate information and values to their children in a developmentally appropriate manner. Such communication can greatly improve their child's potential for making healthy decisions about sexuality. Therefore, it is important that parents understand the rationale for sexuality education and utilize many avenues of communication to reach children and adolescents. Given that family therapists are in an influential role with respect to their clients, it is imperative that they have basic knoledge of sexuality education and bring such knoledge into their work with parents, children, and adolescents. e discuss hy itis important for parents to be involved in sexuality education, the obstacles within families and the ider culture that can “get in the ay,” and research-based information that can help therapists and their clients. Finally, e highlight the specific roles that feminist family therapists can play with parents, children, and adolescents.

Balance as Fairness for Whom?

Balance has been typically studied in the family therapy field as an issue for white, dual career, heterosexual couples dealing with responsibilities of work and family life. In this article, we argue for definitions that expand the discussion to include those who are often marginalized and, therefore, missing in such discussions. We suggest three broadly defined steps that feminist family therapists can take to redress issues of equity in family life and more broadly in society.

CONSIDERING JUSTICE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FAMILY THERAPY WITH ADOLESCENTS

Feminist approaches to therapy with adolescents emphasize an empowering focus on the strengths of adolescents while simultaneously insisting that therapists become aware of their own biases toward today's adolescents. However, a review of the family therapy literature finds little mention of feminist approaches for addressing injustices (e.g., family scapegoating, negative societal views of adolescents, and gender oppression) that arise in family therapy with adolescents. Therefore, this study explores clinical approaches and resources suggested by a surveyed group of self-identified feminist family therapists. In addition, we also recommend several approaches and resources that will aid family therapists in creating a more just climate for family therapy with youth.

AAMFT Master Series tapes: an analysis of the inclusion of feminist principles into family therapy practice.

Content analysis of 23 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Master Series tapes was used to determine how well feminist behaviors have been incorporated into "ideal" family therapy practice. Feminist behaviors were infrequent, being evident in fewer than 3% of time blocks in event sampling and 10 of 39 feminist behaviors of the Feminist Family Therapist Behavior Checklist. These eminent therapists most often dealt with empowerment of male clients and management of power differentials in the therapeutic relationship in a relatively feminist manner, but they tended to hold women responsible for family issues, endorsed traditional rather than egalitarian relationships, and overlooked how the social context affects families. Several of the therapists were blatantly sexist in their treatment of female clients, communicating disrespect of and pathologizing them. The few tapes portraying effective incorporation of feminist principles in family therapy indicate that a handful of behaviors are key to this approach.

Experiencing Multiconsciousness

Our work as feminist family therapists has been strongly influenced by Harris' (1991) ideas related to multiple consciousness. In attempting to help clients see the complexity of their identity and their relationships, we have integrated a model using feminist ideas and themes, the metaphor of “parts” (Schwartz, 1992), and Narrative therapy techniques (White & Epston, 1990). In this model, the therapist's goals are to help clients examine the societal and familial influences on the different “parts” of their identities, to empower clients to reconstruct and expand their identities, and to encourage them to develop a strong sense of who they are and who they want to be in relation to others. Case examples with individuals and a couple are provided to illustrate the model.

Unraveling Power Issues in Couples Therapy

This qualitative study explored approaches to addressing power and inequity issues in therapy with cross-gender couples. In-depth interviews were conducted with an expert panel of 15 feminist family therapists to examine the components of such approaches. Grounded theory procedures were used to analyze patterns and themes that emerged from the data. Categories were generated that detail both the descriptions of power issues the respondents believe are significant in cross-gender relationships as well as strategies for addressing power issues. This paper details the strategies family therapists can employ to accomplish the difficult task of broaching power in therapeutic work with couples. A central thesis is that feminist family therapists must employ a lens broader than one that simply includes the personal domestic encounters of relationships. The social politics of male-female relationships must also be captured.

DEVELOPING AN IDENTITY AS A FEMINIST FAMILY THERAPIST: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING

Although feminists have profoundly influenced the field of family therapy, little has been written about the process by which these women came to identify themselves as feminist family therapists. This article reports the results of a qualitative research study that explored that process and suggests a model of feminist family therapy identity development. Implications for training programs are reveived.

Ethical Considerations When Feminist Family Therapists Treat Men

Can feminist family therapists adequately treat men without, at one extreme, giving into their socialization and giving up themselves, or without, at the other, marginalizing or blaming men? Because of men's and women's natural interdependence, in order for feminism to realize the deepest liberation of women's power and capacity, not only is it possible, but also it is essential that the issue of our working with men and boys be addressed. Further, to practice ethically, feminist family therapists must develop a clinical stance that is gender-sensitive to all family members. In this article, a major potential block to ethical practice with all family members is discussed: unexamined personal biases that form therapists' countertransference issues that bleed into clinical practice.

Client Harm and Professional Accountability

This article describes a feminist model for defining and preventing professional misconduct which holds the therapist accountable for the nature and intent of the therapeutic relationship. The model is feminist because the idea of relationship is its principal object of concern. Indeed, the measuring stick in this model is the therapist's behavior in terms of the way it either diminishes or enhances the relational connection with the client rather than whether codes of ethics deem the behavior appropriate. To use this model, however, feminist family therapists have to challenge not only the traditional definition of systemic, or no-fault, neutrality that obscures the importance of accountability, but also those ideologies in feminist thinking that advocate eliminating or minimizing the power differential between therapist and client-ideologies that are at cross-purposes with the foundation of the relationship.

Cultural Competence in Feminist Family Therapy

In recent years African American families have assumed a higher level of visibility among consumers of psychological services. Despite this they are often reluctant consumers with a history of insensitive treatment from mental health institutions. Many African American men and women are also wary of feminism. These factors may leave the feminist family therapist with unique challenges in providing treatment to African American families. This article explores the need to view the African American family's experience in the context of African American cultural imperatives and the antagonistic relationship between African Americans and the dominant culture in the U.S. The authors also address the importance of the therapists' awareness of their own racial identity, the role of white skin privilege, and the role of racism in the lives of African and white Americans.

Evolution of Feminist Family Therapy in Liechtenstein

The author's own evolution as a feminist family therapist is developed in the context of her country of Liechtenstein where woman have had voting rights only since 1984. Additionally, the case of a woman who suffers from anxiety attacks is presented. This case reflects the socio-political status of women in Liechtenstein and particularly of a foreign-born woman.