Feminist Therapy: How It Works & What to Expect

What Is Feminist Therapy?

Feminist therapy (also called multicultural-feminist counseling or intersectional feminist therapy) is a strengths-based therapeutic approach. It views the political and personal as being intertwined, and views social equity as essential to mental health. In feminist therapy, clinicians seek to level traditional power dynamics in the client-therapist relationship, viewing the client as a collaborator and an expert on their own experience.

Using this broader framework, therapists may treat a range of issues depending on their areas of specialization and advanced training. It is common for feminist therapists to combine approaches such as feminist somatic therapy, which includes an emphasis on bodily awareness, and mindfulness-focused feminist therapy, which emphasizes self-compassion work.

A few examples of issues addressed in feminist therapy are:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Trauma
• Body image
• Eating disorders
• Substance abuse
• Relational challenges

Feminist Therapy Techniques

Key techniques used in feminist therapy include self-disclosure, psychoeducation, power analyses, reframing, and social action.

Here are five key techniques used by feminist therapists:

1. Egalitarian relationship: Feminist therapy holds that an authentic relationship is essential to the therapeutic process. When helpful to the client, the therapist uses appropriate self-disclosure. Also within the relationship, therapists may elicit and encourage feedback from the client.
2. Psycho-education: Because increased feeling of personal power is a goal of feminist therapy, psychoeducation is used to support clients in gaining knowledge about issues that arise in therapy.
3. Power analysis: Power analysis is used to explore social position, as well as how power and privilege have impacted a client’s experiences, self-worth, choices, and behaviors.
4. Reframing: In feminist therapy, reframing involves contexualizing a client’s behavior or experience within the larger socio-political context rather than in isolation. This helps normalize a client’s experience and move away from pathologizing feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
5. Social action: Social activism may be offered as an intervention if a client is interested and it is appropriate. The benefits of social action may be therapeutic in a number of ways including social connection with others around shared values and cultivating a feeling of personal power.

Feminist Counseling Theory

Feminist therapy emerged in the 1960s alongside the civil rights and women’s rights movements, revolving aroundthe mental health needs of cis-gendered women. It was radically different from earlier therapeutic approaches, which positioned the therapist as an expert and omitted the social and cultural context of the client’s experience.

Researchers say that feminist therapy was unique in that it acknowledged that women could experience emotional distress due to overt oppression and marginalization, as well as micro aggressions. BIPOC and poor women were especially vulnerable to these stressors, as they continue to be today, but early feminist therapy received criticism for not being inclusive of their needs, as did the second wave of the feminist movement.¹

Contemporary feminist therapy has attempted to prioritize inclusivity and diversity of experience including race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, body size, ability, and other marginalized identities. As such, an intersectional framework is often encouraged to gather a fuller picture of a client’s identity and experience in the world.² Contemporary feminist therapy also holds the importance of increasing awareness of personal and implicit bias, as well as adopting an anti-racist stance.³

Black Feminist Counseling Theory

Black feminist therapy emerged as an alternative to feminist therapy (and other therapuetic approaches) that were Eurocentric in origin and viewed the experiences of BIPOC women as “other.” While Black feminist counseling may incorporate similar interventions as feminist therapy, it centers on the unique experiences of Black women.

Black feminist therapists propose theories and interventions that help Black women discern their personal struggles from the structural constraints of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia, moving their lives towards wellness and joy.⁴

Womanist & Mujerista Counseling Theory

While Black feminist counseling focuses specifically on the experiences and care of Black women, the womanist approach centers on the overlapping collective experiences and values of BIPOC women. Mujerista counseling centers on the experiences of Latinx women.

Both of these psychologies focus on self-definition, agency, community or social support, survival strategies, coping strategies, resistance strategies, growth, healing, resilience, and thriving. Womanist and mujerista counseling approaches may also, depending on the practitioner, incorporate indigenous healing and spiritual practices.⁵

Feminist Therapy Examples

In action, feminist therapy appears in many ways. You can expect each therapist will bring their own unique personality, life experiences, training, and interpretation of feminist therapy to each session. For this reason, it’s important to ask a potential therapist to describe their style and approach early on.

Here are three examples of what feminist therapy may look like in action:

1. Feminist Counseling for Body Image

Lilah is a 33-year-old, cis-gendered, Black woman and seeks out therapy because she has had consistent negative thoughts about her body for most of her life. She says that despite her body-positive upbringing, she feels uncomfortable in her own skin.

A therapist working from a feminist framework may first ask questions to gather more information about client’s experience and identity, and validate and normalize Lilah’s feelings. Then, they may move into a power-analysis process around body image, including a look at race, power, and privilege, as well as issues of acculturation that may have impacted Lilah’s relationship with her own body.

A therapist may also prompt Lilah to consider the messages she has received across her lifetime about her body and ask her to consider the type of relationship she would like to have with her body now. Body positive or neutral psycho-education may also be provided. Depending on the client’s goals and the individual therapist’s training, interventions may be offered to support the client such as mindfulness or self-compassion.

2. Feminist Therapy for Work Stress & Anxiety

Nancy is a 55-year-old trans woman, who also identifies as Jewish and white. She works in the tech field. She deals with restless sleep, feeling on edge, tension headaches, isolation, shame, and not feeling valued in her work place like she was when she was younger. She says she is working harder than ever and suffering emotionally and physically. She also notes that culturally, professional achievement is extremely important for her.

In this case, the therapist validates Nancy’s feelings and utilizes self-disclosure to share that she has had a similar experience in the workplace. Self-disclosure in feminist therapy is utilized to help normalize the experience for the client, as well as to equalize the therapeutic relationship.

Then, the therapist may provide psychoeducation about ageism and youth culture, as well as psycho-education about self-care practices to target stress and burnout. The therapist may also engage Nancy in a discussion about what hinders her self-care, including messages she may have received related to gender, age, race, and culture. Because Nancy has identified that she feels isolated and is lacking a strong support network, the therapist may recommend a support group with other folks her age who are struggling with similar issues.

3. Feminist Counseling for Trauma

Maisy is a 16-year-old, LatinX high schooler who identifies as gender-fluid. They have experienced extensive bullying while at school and now report feeling unsafe most of the time and exhibiting regular anger outbursts at people they are not upset with.

The therapist in this case acknowledges and normalizes Maisy’s experience and provides psychoeducation about trauma, including the exploration of tools to help calm down in moments when they feel triggered. Additionally, the therapist recognizes Maisy’s feelings of powerlessness and collaborates with them about how they would like to use therapy. Third, the therapist supports Maisy in reaching out to the support network they already have, including their family, as well as creating new supportive connections at school to increase feelings of safety.

In the session, Maisy identifies that their school administrators are not adequately educated about issues related to gender-identity; with the support of their therapist,  they take steps to organize students and parents to address the issue. This intervention helps Maisy direct their anger into generative action.

Is Feminist Therapy Effective?

While research on the efficacy of feminist therapy is limited compared to many other approaches of psychotherapy, it’s still emerging and has supported key aspects of feminist therapy theory. Specifically, empirical studies have demonstrated the negative impact of oppression on mental health outcomes, feminist therapists’ attention to power and oppression, the importance of egalitarian therapeutic relationships, and benefits of consciousness-raising and empowerment.⁶

How to Find a Feminist Therapist

While feminist therapy has a specific framework, individual therapists will work in their own unique way. For this reason, making a list of questions before you begin contacting therapists may be helpful. If you are interested in knowing how your prospective therapist identifies or if they consider themselves allied to a particular group, ask them. Appropriate therapist disclosure is an important concept in feminist therapy.

Some other questions to ask may include:

• What does feminist therapy mean to you?
• Why do you work from this approach?
• How can you help me with [a specific issue]?

When you are ready to seek out a feminist therapist, you have a number of options available to you. You can find a therapist by asking for primary care provider for a referral or by checking an online therapist directory.

What to Expect From Feminist Therapy Sessions

You can expect feminist therapy sessions to be collaborative, validating, and perhaps, eye-opening. Because feminist therapists believe strongly in a therapeutic partnership between client and therapist, the client will likely have the option of guiding the first therapy session. The therapist may listen without judgement and ask questions to better gain a sense of the client’s experience and what they are seeking in therapy.

Subsequent sessions will be guided by the client and therapist. Therapists using the feminist therapy framework welcome feedback and encourage openness and authenticity. Ultimately, the client decides how long therapy continues.

Final Thoughts on Feminist Counseling

For people who have felt like their emotions and experiences in the world have been invalidated, feminist therapy can feel like a breath of fresh air. The approach is an excellent option for people of any gender who desire to be heard and understood, reclaim a sense of personal power, and take an active collaborative role in their own treatment.