Feminist Therapy

While traditional therapeutic approaches can and are helpful, feminist therapy is distinct in its addressing the role of gender in psychological distress. Gender is a reality that shapes our behavior. Our world is organized through its influence. Feminist therapy recognizes that environmental pressures affect a woman's identity. Women live in a world dominated by males and masculine patterns of thought and behavior, or the patriarchy.
Until recently, studies of human behavior were almost always conducted by and on men. So men's ways of being often were -- and are -- used to describe women as well as men and therapy techniques useful for men are applied to women equally. Feminists argue that men and women are not the same and, indeed, have developed from early childhood in different ways. Men tend to view the world in terms of power and competition, or in a hierarchy. Women, on the other hand, view the world through relationship and connection to others. So most psychological theories and the therapy techniques derived from them may not fit women very well.
Feminist therapy, on the other hand, recognizes the central place relationship and connections hold in women's lives. It considers the nature of sex-bias in a male-dominated culture. It honors women's experiences as valid and unique. Focusing on the damaging effects of gender-role socialization, it seeks to address the inequalities in educational and career opportunities. Feminist therapy also helps women overcome barriers they experience in achieving their personal goals and assists them in recognizing and reaching their full potential. It specifically addresses such questions as family and marriage relationships, reproductive concerns, career issues, the role of violence and fear in their lives, physical and sexual abuse, body image and eating disorders, and self-esteem
Therapists literally must learn to see with solution-seeing eyes and hear with solution-hearing ears and feel with solution-feeling