1. Feminist Family Therapy
ACSW 2008 Annual Conference
Dr. Deborah Foster, RSW
Dr. Karen Nielsen, RSW

2. Slides will be posted on ACSW Web site
next week

3. Outline Development of feminist family therapy What is feminism
What is family therapy
Feminist family therapy
Philosophy
Themes
Interventions
Premises congruent with values of social work.

4. Video

5. What is Feminism?
Radical - capitalism is barrier to ending female oppression. No alternative other than the total uprooting and reconstruction of society to achieve goals
Socialist - women being held down as a result of their unequal standing in workplace and the domestic sphere. Both must change for equality.

6. What is Feminism?
Liberal
Equality will happen through political & legal reform
Eco-feminism
Belief in the interconnectedness of all forms of life and each act effects the whole.
All forms of oppression affect us all
Two kinds of power: power over & power within. Power from within is empowerment& is unlimited & renewable.
Diversity is needed in the system to maintain stability. (true for political and economic systems also.)

7. The Influence of Feminism: Three Waves
First Wave - Right to vote Second Wave – Right to reproductive control, equal pay for equal work, no fault divorce, gender neutral language & sanctions against marital rape Third wave –celebrate diversity; combat inequalities women face as a result of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, economic status or level of education; access to NRT for single women and lesbians

8. Gender Role Socialization Exercise
What messages did you get about being an man/woman when you were growing up
How has your socialization influenced your practice
Assign a recorder/discuss
Be prepared to report back
10 Mins

9. Family Therapy Types
Structural
Strategic
Bowenian
Narrative
Feminist

10. Structural Family Therapy
Salvador Minuchin
Directive & action orientated
Goal: modify the present, not explore past
Goal: not symptom relief but for family to reorganize itself around a symptom
No pathologizing/ labeling of individuals
Therapist not to impose their beliefs on family
No consideration of power differential between men, women & children

11. Strategic Family Therapy
Jay Haley
Does not address gender/power differences
Therapist responsible for influencing family
Associated with use of paradoxical techniques
Give tasks and homework
Not concerned with the past
View of dysfunction: symptoms regulate homeostasis in families; symptom is a type of behavior. Symptoms carry a function for the family

12. Strategic Family Therapy
The identified patient ( symptom carrier) cannot be viewed separate & apart from the family. Unless the system changes, it is difficult for the individual to change.
Insight is not needed for change to take place.

13. Bowenian
Murray Bowen
Goal for the individual to differentiate & take "I" position in family of origin
Individual must stay connected to family & therapy generally involves 3 generations of family
Triangulation is a key concept. Triangles are likely to develop during times of distance.
In relationships, the partner who experiences the most distress will often connect with someone else as a way to gain an ally.

14. Bowenian
Conceptualizes togetherness and individuality as competing forces
Therapy focus on "overcoming togetherness needs and increasing individuality"
No recognition that women are relational
Therapist neutral
Does not address gender/power differences

15. Narrative Family Therapy
Michael White and David Epstein
Developed as a reaction to labelling & pathologizing of traditional family therapy
Stresses a collaborative relationship with family
Key concept is externalization, creates a team made up of therapist & persons united against an outside problem

16. Narrative Therapy
Emphasis is on victory over problems & not on problem-saturated story.
Emphasis is on uniqueness of persons, not their “deviance”
Fits very well with a feminist approach

17. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
As you watch the video clip, consider the socialization messages?
Who carries the power in this family?

18. Feminist Family Therapy
Developed in Second Wave
Rachel Hare-Mustin (1978): A Feminist Approach to Family Therapy
Application of feminist theory & values to family therapy, including personal & political
Understanding gender & power is the core of therapeutic practice
Understanding client’s problems requires a socio-cultural perspective
Societal changes & empowerment of the individual

19. Feminist Family Therapy
Explores way gender roles & socialization affect each individual & their relationships with one another in family system, society & within the client therapist relationship
Recognizes the unequal status of women & the reasons for that inequality
Feminist family theory is a philosophy, not just a set of techniques
Therapists help clients examine & challenge gender rules & roles

20. Themes in Feminist Therapy
Understanding power & control issues
Examining external forces that influence behavior
Identifying messages receive in growing up
Learning to accept appropriate responsibility
Exploring personal values/beliefs
Recognition that both women & men live in a gendered context & that male gender roles can also be problematic
Parenting is not the sole responsibility of women

21. Feminist Family Therapy
Egalitarian role of feminist therapist
Therapeutic alliance: Recognize power imbalance between client & therapist
Judicious use of self-disclosure to reduce power differential between client & counselor
No labelling & pathologizing
No giving interpretations
Client is “expert” on self

22. Feminist Family Therapy
Historically women & men have been socialized in different way. Men socialized to be task focused; women are socialized to be emotional caretakers.
Masculinity is defined through separation; femininity is defined through attachment.
Important to incorporate a gender lens when counselling couples & families. Empowerment is a key concept.

23. Brokeback Mountain
How do same sex relationships challenge our assumptions about male female socialization
Consider the importance of a gender lens

24. Empowerment
Empowerment: the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices & to transform those choices into desired actions & outcomes.

25. Feminist Family Therapy
Includes male clients and male therapists
Seeks non-gendered & culturally fair ways to approach & interpret traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques
It looks at gender role strain for both men & women
Family seen as powerful resource for positive change
The task of therapy is to mobilize that resource

26. Intervention Techniques in Feminist Family Therapy
Gender-role analysis
Help family understand the impact of gender-role expectations in their relationships
Provides clients with insight into the ways social issues affect their problems
Power analysis
Emphasis on identifying the power differences in relationships, in society, and impact on family
Clients helped to recognize different kinds of power they possess and how they and others exercise power

27. Intervention Techniques in Feminist Family Therapy
Power issues detrimental to the family system are confronted
Feminist family therapists help clients examine and challenge rules and roles and reorganize them so that destructive patterns can change
Feminist family therapists encourage the development of inner resources and goal setting

28. Reframing
Turns problem behaviors into resources & conflict situations into platforms for agreement
Fundamental shift in our cultural paradigm
Encouraged & rewarded to be problem-solvers from early age
Seeing self through the filters of being a problem solver sets our perceptual filters to "scan for problems"
Life is seen primarily as a source of problems being served up so that we can maintain our status as master problem solver

29. Reframing
Problem solving is dominant theme in schools, psychotherapy, management & counseling
This orientation can hide from us the small successes that if noticed and nurtured, can lead to creative spirit of continuous improvement & success 
An individual attitude of reframing problems into potential and opportunity is more than just “sleight of mind”. It is literally a way to change the perceptions of ourselves and others

30. Gaylord’s Wall
Acknowledging small successes: is it sleight of mind?

31. Social Work & Feminist Family Therapy
Core Social Work Values and Principles Value 1: Respect for Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons Value 2: Pursuit of Social Justice Value 3: Service to Humanity Value 4: Integrity of Professional Practice Value 5: Confidentiality in Professional Practice Value 6: Competence in Professional Practice

32. Core FTT Values and Principles
Value 1: Respect clients' freedom to choose; emphasize development of collaborative relationships; therapy must be geared to helping the client see that she must be her own rescuer - that the power she longs for is not in someone else but in herself. Client as expert (Respect for Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons)
Value 2: The personal is political; consider problems within societal context; actively seeking to change gender injustices experienced by women and men. (Pursuit of Social Justice)

33. Social Work & Feminist Family Therapy
Value 3: Feminist therapist seeks multiple avenues for impacting change, including public ed. & advocacy within professional organizations, lobbying legislative actions (Service to Humanity)
Value 4: Feminist therapist is accountable self, colleagues & clients. (Integrity of Professional Practice)

34. Social Work & Feminist Family Therapy
Value 5: Open agenda, informed consent; egalitarian relationship (Confidentiality in Professional Practice)
Value 6: A feminist therapist will contract to work with clients & issues within the realm of her/his competencies (Competence in Professional Practice)