Feminist identification and feminist therapy behavior: what do feminist therapists do with their clients?

The theoretical principles of feminist therapy are well documented. Less is known, however, about the ways in which therapists enact these principles in clinical practice. This study explored the impact of feminist identification on the self-reported use of feminist therapy behaviors. Therapy behaviors most commonly utilized by feminist therapists were measured, and their relationship to guiding notions about therapy explored.

Data were collected from 84 therapists. Participants completed a survey that assessed Global Feminist Identification (GFI), feminist therapy practices via a memorable case description, and responses to a feminist therapy behavior checklist (FBC). Additionally, 9 of the 84 therapists participated in a semi-structured interview.

Analyses of variance indicated that GFI was a significant predictor of the FBC total score and three of five subscale scores: analyzing sex-roles, encouraging a redistribution of power, and minimizing hierarchy in the therapist-client relationship. Data from the semi-structured interviews suggested that feminist therapists conceptualized the objectives of feminist therapy as: validating and legitimizing women's realities in order to help women clients take action; emphasizing the impact of marginalization in order to challenge traditional conceptualizations of pathology; and empowering clients through egalitarianism in the client-therapist relationship. Memorable case descriptions indicated that only 2 of 16 feminist therapy tenets were regularly incorporated by feminist therapists, including: expanding girls and women's alternatives, options, and choices, and focusing on the cultural, social, political, economic, and historical factors of women's lives. Most feminist therapist were not social activists, nor did they promote social activism among their clients. Few feminist therapists highlighted the importance of attending to issues of diversity, challenging their own biases, or self- disclosing to clients.

In order to support its claims of providing a unique service, feminist therapy must be more than "well-intentioned therapy with women." Therapy must be conducted with the purpose of trying to improve the status of women, and therapists must define themselves publicly as feminist. The need for research that identifies how feminist therapists understand their behaviors to be feminist, and how clients' goals for therapy are transformed as a consequence, is identified.