Psych 222
Context & Social Construction
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Deconstructing categories
Deconstructing relationships
Intro to feminist therapy
Current context of therapy
Current role of therapists
Current challenges
Assumptions of feminist therapy
Core principles
Cases
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Deconstructing Categories
According to your readings:
 What is the function of the concept of race?
 How does “race” affect lived experience?
 What is the function of sexual orientation
categories? How are we affected by categories?
 What is the function of defining an underclass?
 What is the “undeserving poor?”
 How has “disability” been used to justify
inequality?
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Deconstructing Relationships
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To what extent are all relationships in society
structured by domination and subordination?
Can categories exist without power differentials?
Is it possible for equality to exist in
relationships?
What is the therapist’s role in helping people
create equality in their own relationships?
What is the therapist’s role in creating equality
between groups?
To what extent should therapists be advocates?
To what extent should therapists be activists?
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Intro to Feminist Therapy
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Critical Psychology: questions assumptions
Stems from civil rights movement, rape crisis
movement and anti-psychiatry movement
States: Therapy exists in a cultural context
and traditional approaches often reflect
and reinforce power arrangements
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Current Context for Therapy:
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Medical model of clinical psych (Since WW2)
 Clinicians “treat” “psychopathology”
 Individual level intervention
 After the fact
Emphasis on treatment of “disease”
Corporate ownership of psychotherapy
Emphasis on “outcomes” and “accountability”
Short term problem focused
Standardization in assessment and treatment
Clinical trials as “gold standard,” seen as unbiased
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Current Role of Therapist
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Predominance of CBT model
Therapists seen as professional experts
Movement toward manualized treatments
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Current Challenges
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Drastic cuts in funding for social supports
Neighborhood support systems diminishing
Punitive policies in schools
 Emphasize accountability
 Reduce enrichment
Two tiered system of healthcare
Increased poverty linked to increased violence,
addiction, and risk behaviors
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Core Principles of Feminist Therapy
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Clients stories matter (Phenomenology)
Integrative: Can be used with different approaches
Personal is political
Context matters
Gender is at the core of power relationships
Gender is socially constructed
Emphasizes interdependence over autonomy
Emphasizes transformation of self and society not just
adjustment, symptom reduction, or actualization
Sees therapists as agents of social change
Believes good therapy is feminist therapy
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Cases
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Scott
Abby
Anna & Sergie
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