Feminist Therapists Research Articles

Three Aspects of the Therapeutic Conversation in Couples Therapy

Feminist scholars have revealed the importance of examining the influence of gender on the therapeutic process. Gender differences in the treatment of clients may reveal inequitable or traditionally Stereotypie treatment of clients by therapists. This study examined gender differences in three conversational strategies widely used by therapists: expressions of empathy or understanding, compliments or praise, and challenges or requests for change. Fourteen tapes of live therapy sessions conducted by “master” therapists were examined using an exploratory, qualitative methodology based on Conversation Analysis. Results of this exploration revealed that therapists who are not self identified as “feminist challenged female clients more than male clients, and complimented male clients more than female clients. Feminist therapists challenged male clients more than female clients, and complimented female clients more than male clients. Feminist therapists used more challenges designed to facilitate non-stereo-typic gender behavior in both male and female clients. Only male therapists used disrespectful challenges of female clients, and were more often disrespectful to female clients than to male clients. Implications for the therapist-client relationship and the feminist critique are provided.

The Mentoring Process for Feminist Therapists

Summary Empirical research and personal narratives highlight the important role of mentorship in the training of feminist schol ars and therapists. This article explores what we know (and don't know) about ferminist mentoring, particularly as it relates to the practice of feminist therapy. A personal narrative of one trainee' s experience of mentoring in her development as a feminist therapist follows. The article concludes with suggestions for other feminist therapy trainees.

The Trouble with Power

Summary Power in therapy is an issue of great import. As feminist therapists, we work to ereate a relationship in which power is shared, and where mutuality is the goal. Yet denying power differentials in the therapy relationship may have deleterious consequences. Believing that we are powerless or have no power relative to others may be one of the most important is sues related to harm in therapy. This article explores the ways in which a lack of recognition of power may be damaging through a discussion of women's relationship to power, power in therapy, and how denial of power may be associated with harm in therapy relationships.

Feminism's Third Wave

Summary “Third wave” feminists, raised in the wake of an established feminist movement as well as a strong anti-feminist backlash, are beginning to define their own feminist agenda. “Third wave” feminists are exploring the contradictions in their lived experience as feminists, and examining the inter section of feminism with their other identities. Young feminists' self-expression has been characterized (by feminists and non-feminists) as “self-obsessed” and “divorced from matters of public purpose” (Bellafante, 1998, p. 57 & 60). In this essay, we provide an alternative view of “third wave” expression, seeing young feminists' honesty in their struggles with various identities as a resurgence of grass roots activism; a return to “the personal.” In this essay, we call for an intergenerational dialogue between second and third wave feminists, and encourage feminist therapists to support and validate young feminists.

Feelings in context: countertransference and the real world in feminist therapy.

The concept of countertransference has been seen as problematic by feminist therapists. However, feminist therapy theory is intensely interested in the symbolic levels of the relationships between therapists and clients, with an emphasis on how the here and now social context informs and transforms those symbols. This article describes a feminist perspective on the therapist's symbolic relationships to clients, and the positive and challenging ramifications of those symbolic encounters.

How Can Feminist Therapists Support Women with Autoimmune Disorders?

Although many autoimmune disorders are unfamiliar to most Americans, together these disorders represent a significant proportion of the total incidence of chronic disease. Women are diagnosed with autoimmune disorders more often than men, and the sex difference is substantial in some disorders. The peak age of onset of these disorders is from early adulthood to mid-life, which violates the popular assumption that only older people experience chronic, debilitating illnesses. The unpredictability of autoimmune disorders, the knowledge that they are progressive and incurable, the possibility of deleterious treatment side-effects, and the general public's unfamiliarity with autoimmune disorders combine to make living with one a frustrating and isolating experience. The purposes of this article are to educate feminist therapists about autoimmune disorders and to encourage feminist therapists to use their expertise to help support women who are adjusting to life with an autoimmune disorder.

Does “Feminist” Plus “Therapist” Equal “Feminist Therapist”?: An Empirical Investigation of the Link Between Self-Labeling and Behaviors

This research examined the therapy behaviors self-identified feminist therapists engaged in. Practicing therapists ( N = 101) were asked to endorse various feminist self-labels and to indicate how often they engaged in a variety of feminist (as assessed by the Feminist Therapy Behaviors-Revised [FTB-R] scale; and other therapy behaviors with both women and men clients. The following results were found. First, incrementally specific feminist self-labeling by therapists improved the prediction of therapy behaviors reflecting the notion that the personal is political. Second, the most strongly identified feminist therapists were distinguished from other therapists by their attention to issues of oppression (e.g., sexism, racism, heterosexism) and socialization. Third, therapists reported engaging in FTB-R behaviors with men clients almost as much as with women clients. And finally, FTB-R and other therapy behaviors emerged as distinct, both in terms of the underlying structure of therapists' responses and in terms of the links to feminist self-labeling.

In the Belly of the Beast

This paper addresses three primary moral and ethical issues faced by feminist therapists working with women in prison: (a) working in a racist and patriarchal institution, (b) conducting therapy in a setting that can be antithetical to the inherent vulnerability and the development of trust involved in the therapeutic relationship, and (c) the therapist's dual allegiance to the institution and the woman seeking therapy. A discussion of ways feminist therapists might morally and ethically work in a penal or Other institutional system concludes this paper.

Supervision of Psychotherapy and Counselling: Making a Place to Think • More Than a Mirror: How Clients Influence Therapists' Lives

Supervision of Psychotherapy and Counselling: Making a Place to Think • More Than a Mirror: How Clients Influence Therapists' Lives

Rethinking Feminist Theory and Social Work Therapy

A feminist theorist and a social work therapist discuss gender in the postmodern era of feminism and social work therapy. They explore the contribution of one to the other and the critical dilemmas and tensions arising as a result. The paper reflects on the following questions: What can postmodern feminist theory contribute to social work therapy? Is it still the feminist social worker's role to speak for clients as women? Who can speak; and for whom; and for what? Do clients influence therapists, and if so, in what ways? Clearly, they argue, any notion of a unified female experience must be treated cautiously in the 1990s. On the other hand, feminist theory is in danger of becoming overly skeptical of universalist ideas that discourage women from thinking about how distinct and different people are. While feminism now encompasses a variety of theories of gender and strategies for change, there remains the need for a common core of beliefs centering around women's oppression, subordination, exploitation, and the need for transformation. The authors describe three cases where a feminist therapist grapples with some of the challenges of postmodern feminist theory. They see the need for démystification of feminist therapists' understanding of their exclusive consciousness of women as women. The challenge for feminist therapists is to recognize the dilemmas inherent in the feminist debate: both the power of universalizing women as women in the name of solidarity for social change, and the danger in denying or suppressing acknowledgment of differences among women.

Putting Politics into Practice

A distinctive feature of feminist therapy is its insistence on bringing power into discussions of therapy and mental health. Using the framework of discourse analysis, we ask how feminist therapists talk about power. What linguistic resources do they employ to construct accounts of power in therapy? Drawing on interviews with three experienced feminist therapists, we trace how their language practices highlight some dimensions of power and conceal others. The diversity in these interviews points to the heterogeneity of feminist therapies. Although some feminist therapists are now calling for standardization, we argue that the field will be better served if diverse ideas and discourses are brought into abrasive interaction.

Making Therapy Feminist

The authors wished to gather information about the ways in which experienced feminist therapists are integrating the principles of feminist therapy into their practice. Two areas of interest were examined: the application of specific therapy techniques and the ongoing background dialogue of therapy. A survey asking two open-ended questions regarding these areas was mailed to members of the Feminist Therapy Institute. Responses were organized into categories based on feminist therapy principles for which there was consensus in the literature and as described in the Feminist Therapy Code of Ethics. Results showed strong support for a variety of ways on which feminist therapists enact these principles, with particular attention given by respondents to power in the structure and relationship of therapy. Respondents also described creative ways in which they had modified cognitive-behavioral, hypnosis, and other therapy techniques in order to make them more compatible with feminist principles.

Feminist Therapy

During its first decade, feminist therapy was rich with political analysis. Although many feminist therapists have remained loyal to that original stance, professionalization of feminist therapy has led to a de-emphasis on feminist political analysis. This article redefines and reclaims empowerment from a feminist political perspective and proposes a framework for conducting political analysis in feminist psychotherapy.

Politicizing Survivors of Incest and Sexual Abuse

As both a feminist therapist and a survivor of incest, moving myself beyond therapeutic issues into an area of public education has been crucial to my own healing process. Receiving positive responses to my workshops and discussion groups, it became apparent that using a similar approach with clients who were survivors might be beneficial to their healing. As a member of The Counseling Center for Women, a feminist therapy collective in Israel, I suggested we sponsor a public exhibition and a series of programs of the topic of incest and abuse. The Municipality of Tel Aviv was approached to be its governmental sponsor. Entitled “Silent No More,” the program moved therapists and clients from working in the privacy of therapy to a public forum. What began as an uncomplicated educational program became an emotional process and a politicizing of individuals to help others as well as themselves. Moving from a feeling of shame to a sense of empowerment, the exhibition gave us a new sense of self-esteem and strength in our own abilities and our recovery process.

Comparison of Feminist Versus Psychoanalytic/Dynamic and Other Therapists on Self-Disclosure

The Feminist Self-Disclosure Inventory (FSDI) was developed to assess principles of therapist self-disclosure as described in the feminist therapy literature. This 18-item Likert-type scale was completed in a mailed survey by women psychotherapists (i.e., 41 self-identified feminist therapists, 34 psychoanalytic/dynamic, and 68 other therapists). Results indicated that the FSDI was comprised of five factors [i.e., Therapist Background (TB), Promotes Liberatory Feelings (PLF), Promotes Egalitarianism (PE), Therapist Availability (TA), and Empowering Client (EC)], and that the overall scale had excellent internal consistency and very satisfactory test-retest reliability. Also, feminist therapists endorsed FSDI factors significantly more than psychoanalytic/dynamic and other therapists with the greatest differences on items reflecting overall use of self-disclosure, disclosing sexual orientation, using disclosure to create egalitarianism, and encouraging the client's choice of a role model in the therapeutic relationship.

Frank Revelations of a Difficult Therapy Experience

Summary A single case history illustrates the dilemma a psychotherapist faces when her social values obstruct the therapeutic alliance. In this case a feminist therapist depicts the countertransference complexities involved in treating a man who appears to be psychologically tormenting his wife.

Women, S/M, and Therapy

SUMMARY The author offers feminist therapists an introduction to the history, practices and community structures of S/M practitioners. Without a basic knowledge of S/M sexuality (and the ability to separate myths about S/M from facts), therapists cannot provide their S/M-practicing clients optimal care. Literature from a sexological and S/M community perspective is recommended for those professionals who wish to expand their knowledge of this constellation of erotic practices and the issues with which its practitioners might commonly deal. Women and men whose erotic fantasies or practices include sadomasochistic or dominant/submissive elements have traditionally received little support and understanding from mainstream psychotherapists. This has also been true of women seeking to disclose S/M interests or feelings to feminist therapists. Indeed, S/M sexuality has been such a site of controversy within feminist thought that many feminist therapists, influenced both by traditional psychotherapeutic notions and feminist discourse about S/M, regard sadomasochistic fantasies and play as doubly problematic.

Impact of a clinician's sexual abuse history, gender, and theoretical orientation on treatment issues related to childhood sexual abuse.

This study examined the impact of childhood sexual abuse history (CSA), gender, and theoretical orientation on treatment issues related to childhood sexual abuse. A survey of 501 clinicians found that 32% reported CSA histories. Sexually abused therapists were more likely to report some countertransference issues, especially boundary issues, than nonabused therapists, but gender differences were more important in determining differences in clinical practice. Female clinicians reported that CSA was more difficult to treat, that they screened more regularly for CSA, and that they utilized more coping strategies than male clinicians. Dissimilarities were also found between self-identified feminist therapists and psychoanalysts in their clinical practices, including the use of personality disorder diagnoses, reported countertransference issues, and coping strategies. Greater recognition of these issues in training programs is recommended. The assessment and treatment of child and adult victims of sexual and physical abuse poses complex challenges for professionals. Despite the fact that 40-60% of all psychiatric patients have histories of significant trauma, clinical controversies in treatment perspectives and practices are common (Ganzarain & Buchele, 1986; Wilson & Lindy, 1994). Disputes abound concerning the truth or falsity of abuse accounts, whether to screen routinely for abuse, the consequences of assigning a personality disorder diagnosis versus a posttraumatic stress diagnosis, and the sometimes devastating impact of countertransference responses of therapists treating the vexing problems related to early childhood trauma (Attias, 1986; Demetral, 1984, Doughty & Schneider, 1987; Elliott & Guy, 1993; Howe, Herzberger & Tennen, 1988; Pope & Feldman-Summers, 1992; Pruitt & Kappius, 1992; Swingle, 1987). Ideally, a clinician's personal history, gender, or theoretical orientation should not further confound these issues. Despite a growing awareness of the importance of the therapist's reactions and countertransference processes in the treatment of trauma-related issues, however, there has been little empirical examination of the influence of therapist variables on clinical practice in the treatment of childhood sexual abuse (Nathan, 1986). The purpose of this study

Legal and Psychological Approaches Towards Adult Survivors of Childhood Incest:

This article examines the role of the feminist therapist when an adult client is grappling with what seems to be memories of childhood sexual abuse. It draws from research conducted on the process of remembering and coming to terms with sexual abuse for adult survivors of incest. The article uses a Michigan civil statute of limitations as an example of a civil law with which sexual abuse survivors in Michigan must contend if they wish to seek compensation through the legal system. It then briefly describes an alternative approach to incest survivors' civil cases, the discovery rule. It subsequently moves beyond specific statutes to raise questions as to whether or not the legal system is the best arena in which to solve complex psychological dilemmas. Finally, the article suggests a reasonable stance from which a feminist therapist can work in order to empower her client and herself.

Politics of Memory, Politics of Incest:

This article takes a political and historical perspective on feminist therapy's relationship to incest and recovered memory. The criticisms of feminist therapy raised by the so-called False Memory Syndrome (FMS) movement are analyzed within the context of feminist therapy theory, and found to misrepresent actual feminist practice. Applications of feminist therapy theory to work with clients are employed to illustrate how an egalitarian and empowering philosophy of therapy will avoid potential coercive or suggestive treatments. The political meanings of incest and the necessity for feminist therapists to actively embrace overtly political solutions to the sexual abuse of children are discussed.