NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED399501
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1996-Aug
Pages: 22
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Room of One's Own: Power and Agency in Feminist Therapy.
Marecek, Jeanne; Kravetz, Diane
Feminist therapy, born of activism and opposition to the bias within conventional psychotherapy, is most often defined by its emancipatory goals for women and its approach to treatment which examines the link between the patient's problem and systemic discrimination. In this study, 20 feminist therapists were interviewed in order to explore the way in which feminism is manifested in their psychotherapy practice. Respondents described the defining characteristic of their feminist practice as the nurturing, compassionate, and respectful nature of the therapist-client interaction. Feminist therapy, having developed outside academia, has resulted in intellectual isolation of the practitioners from the ongoing debates among scholars. Among issues discussed are gender essentialism, relational theory, and moral relativism versus absolute feminist values. Rather than a vision of feminist therapy that joins feminist ideology with psychotherapy, the respondents graft elements of feminism onto the process of their practice. This acts to guide the patient to the goal of personal fulfillment from within the existing power structure, rather than challenge it. (LSR)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A