What is Feminist Psychotherapy?

Home » Treatment Therapies » Feminist Psychotherapy » Page 545

Feminist Psychotherapy emerged as an approach to counseling as the waves of feminism gained popularity in mainstream western society. It examines the unique way women relate to the world around them after being seen as inferior to men for many generations. It’s also a response to the once male-dominated field of psychotherapy as a whole.

Feminist therapists aim to treat all genders as equally deserving of respect and dignity and accept. They believe in the historical marginalization of all genders besides males.

Critical to Feminist Psychotherapy is an analysis of power dynamics. Power dynamics are inherent in any relationship, specifically within the counseling relationship. Usually, a counselor is an “expert” with high levels of education and status. The client then is thought to be less than. Feminist Psychotherapy, instead of ignoring this power dynamic or using it to their advantage to tell clients what they ought to do, seeks to highlight it and converse about it. Bringing up how the power dynamics affect the counseling relationship helps people examine the power dynamics in all other areas of their life.

Feminist Psychotherapy can be helpful for a range of mental health concerns, can be utilized for a person of any gender identity, and can be used in group settings, family settings, or individual counseling.

Critical to Feminist Psychotherapy is the idea that people grow through relationships with others. Your therapist might help you analyze your patterns of relating to significant others in your life and might ask you to recall some of your early relationships with parents or other caregivers.

Feminist Psychotherapy does not have a list of techniques necessary for treatment. It focuses on the ideas of empathetically relating to you, from one human being (your counselor) to another (you). A healthy relationship with your counselor becomes a model for all of your relationships.

Therapists Who Specialize in Using Feminist Psychotherapy

Carolyn Leach

Chicago

Illinois

My primary goal is to make you feel heard, seen, and understood. I help my clients tap into the resources and resiliency they already have to figure out how they can support themselves and ask for support from others. I work in a collaborative way with you to determine how you want to dig in with therapy and what works for you. You will learn to harness your existing strengths towards achieving...

Kathryn Nulf

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania

Does any of this resonate with you? You feel anxious, depressed, or up and down with your emotions. You are going through a life transition trying to figure out the feelings that come along with it. You’ve been told you are “too sensitive.” Maybe you are struggling with your sexual identity or sexual orientation and would like a nonjudgmental space where you can explore LGBTQ-related issues. Yo...
Dr. Green is an award winning psychologist and a nationally recognized researcher. She is a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at Cornell College and the Director of the Cornell College Eating Disorder Institute In her part-time private practice, Dr. Green treats clients with a variety of presenting concerns including eating disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, substance...

Zi Wang

New York

New York

If you are reading this, chances are, you’ve tried just about everything and still feel angry, depressed, lonely, and overwhelmed. My therapeutic style is dynamic, genuine, and straight forward. My aim is to help you set realistic goals, identify unhealthy patterns, and understand the underlying causes of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Many of my clients have reported reduced panic attac...
Our lives today are busy and often overwhelming. Struggling with mental health symptoms complicates the process of managing our daily routines and responsibilities, and frequently people struggle in silence, due to fears of being judged. Mental health issues do not have to keep people from achieving their personal goals and living their best lives. Just as people with substance use struggles sp...
My role as a therapist is to help you achieve a greater sense of well-being and purpose in your life. I believe that this is accomplished through a collaborative relationship focused on acceptance and change. Everyone has the power to enact positive change in their lives, and my goal is to provide you with the tools to be able to do so. I operate from a holistic and systemic perspective,...
I am a graduate of The University of Akron with a Master’s of Education in Marriage and Family Therapy. I have experience working with adolescents, individuals, couples and families. I am trained in EMDR, DBT, CBT and Motivational Interviewing. I am able to assist with trauma, anxiety, depression, domestic violence, anger management and relationship issues. I am also a humanistic and feminist...
While everyone struggles sometimes not everyone struggles the same way. To help meet you were you are in your journey I use a variety of approaches. I believe in helping you find your inner strength through strength based approaches, increasing your awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions through Mindfulness based interventions and other cognitive behavioral approaches. I also believ...
Dr. Daroglou is a licensed psychologist. She has worked in the mental health field for over two decades and has been licensed as a psychologist in California since 2005. She offers psychotherapy for individuals and couples. She has offices in La Jolla and Central San Diego for face-to-face appointments and also offers Tele-Health....

Samantha B. Karlin

Washington

District of Columbia

Those who come to me are typically looking to become more confident and self assured, feel happier, communicate clearly and confidently, ease anxiety stemming from public speaking or interpersonal interaction, and/or find a fulfilling relationship or recover from a bad one. I am an action oriented coach, and use exercises and tangible tools to increase "stickiness," and forming of new neural...
Guided Grace Family and Youth Services takes an altruistic approach to therapy. We realize that the world has evolved and therapeutic services cannot stay the same. We provide individual and family therapy by offering multiple services. Our newly renovated space allows us provide an “out of the box” approach to your journey to total wellness by offering groups such as; anger management, Grief,...
Sometimes life sucks and we find ourselves stuck. By looking at the big picture, I help clients get unstuck in order to continue moving through life as they find grace amidst the messy storms that make us human. I believe our struggles do not define us and the battles we are fighting have evolved from our lived experiences, biology, and environment. Therapy is about connecting with another’s...

Colin Takahashi

Los Angeles

California

Throughout our lives, we encounter a number of spaces where we feel our voices silenced. Continual experiences of being quieted can lead us to internalize messages that we don’t have the permission to speak – questioning whether or not to start therapy is no exception to this. As a queer, Korean-Japanese American, there have been countless times when I’ve been told that I’m not man enough, that...

Justine Chatterton

Minneapolis

Minnesota

I believe that the relationship between therapist and patient is the foundation for change. My training is focused on women, non-binary, and female-identified individuals who have experienced trauma, loss, and relationship stressors. I also have specialized experience with mental health difficulties during perinatal, postpartum, and other periods of major life transition. People describe my sty...
Are sadness, frustration, insecurity, relationship struggles, stress or a painful past keeping you from happiness, success and satisfaction in your life? Are your own unhelpful thoughts, perspectives and behaviors? I can help. I have enjoyed helping people of various ages, ethic, spiritual, and economic backgrounds and diverse sexual/gender orientations/ presentations live peaceful, effective a...