Feminist Therapy and Socio-Cultural Perspectives

Question 1

Cultural Adaptation of Treatment

Answer 1

conventional psychotherapy is a practice most suitable for dominant cultural groups within North America and
Western Europe but may be culturally incongruent with the values and worldviews of ethnic and racial
minority groups

cultural adaptation to psychotherapy has been defined as a systematic modification of intervention protocols through which consideration of culture and context modifies treatment in accordance with clients’
values, contexts, and worldviews

• Need to compare apples to apples: compare culturally adapted to same non-adapted treatment (not no treatment)
• Evidence is provided that culturally adapted psychotherapy produces superior outcomes for ethnic and racial minority clients over conventional psychotherapy
• Interesting, usually no difference between bonafide treatments–but in this case there is
• These meta-analytic results were due solely to cultural adaptations of illness myth

Question 2

What is myth adaptation?

Answer 2

Adaptation in terms of

• Inferences about the types of symptoms experienced (somatic, mental or behavioral)
• Assumptions of the etiology of the illness (Psychosocial, supernatural, behavioral , natural, physical)
• estimation of the time line or course of illness (acute, chronic, episodic)
• Client postulation about consequences resulting from the illness (self, social relationshpis, economic standing, physical, behavioral)
• Subsequent expectations about wthat types of treatment would be appropriate

Question 3

What is characteristic of both feminist therapy and sociocultural theories?

Answer 3

Attending to the role of power dynamics, social context and empowerment

Question 4

How do problems develop: feminist therapy

Answer 4

• Focuses on the way that our psychological functioning is influenced by social hierarchies of power based on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, ability and age
• Views distress as a natural reaction to a problematic culture; pathology rests in culture, not in the person
• Is viewed as a form of social justice work
• Is best thought of as a way of thinking and a way of constructing the therapy relationship rather than a set of techniques

Question 5

Define patriarchy

Answer 5

• A social system in which men are a
  a. viewed as deeply different in biology and psychology than women
  b. men are viewed as naturally superior to women and thus proper leaders of society
  c. men have an inherent right to control women’s sexuality
• The psychological effects of patriarchy are believed to be pervasive and often nonconscious
• Feminist therapists focus on ways that patriarchy has influenced clients to silence or distort their truths

Question 6

Foundational values and worldviews of Empowerment Feminist Therapy

Answer 6

1. Institutionalization of sexism is a major source of individual problems
2. All forms of oppression negatively impact members of subordinate groups
3. Social change is crucial to mental health–individual change is not sufficient
4. Psychopathology is defined and maintained by the dominant culture
5. Most gender differences are culture-not biology based constructions
6. Hierarchical relationships have detrimental effects on subordinate groups
7. individuals cannot be understood outside of their cultural contexts
8. Traditional approaches are primarily western, white, male, heterosexual

Question 7

What are the four feminist orientations?

Answer 7

Liberal
Radical
Cultural
Women of color/womanist

Question 8

Liberal feminist counseling orientation

Answer 8

Changing internalized, traditional gender-role messages; creating equal societal opportunities for both women and men

Traditional gender-role socialization is the thing that’s causing problems! if we could un pinkify the girls toy aisle at the toys r us we would solve feminist problems. Our gender socialization practices are problematic so we want to interrupt that

-Sort of optimistic. If we could fix these things it’lll all be better

Question 9

Radical Feminist Counseling Orientation

Answer 9

Perspective on Cause of Problems
Oppressive, especially sexist, societal structures
Focus of Interventions

Social change aimed at reducing/eliminating all forms of societal oppression

Different spin than liberal perspective.

More of a SYSTEM of oppression that is so intense and permeates everything.

You have to really think of this on a systemic level, not just changing our internal beliefs. It’s not a simple solution. It permeates everything so we have to pull it out by the roots bc its so pervasive we have to dig it all up and rebuild it

Ex: It would be good to have a woman president but its soooo not going to change anything. we have to completely redo all social structures.

Question 10

Cultural Feminist Counseling Orientation

Answer 10

Perspective on Cause of Problems
Societal devaluation of women’s strengths, values, roles, and perspectives

Focus of Interventions
Identifying and honoring women’s strengths, values, and perspectives; emphasizing importance of connected, empathic therapeutic relationships

Approach that goes w traditional valuations and what women are supposedly good at. Ex: women are good at relationships but relationships are devalued, so thus womens contributions are devalued. Some of the cultural feminist ppl had this vision of the ancient matriarchy and held that up as a possible alternative way of living. like if women ran everything it would be a better world. There’s an underlying belief that there’s something BETTER about women and that it’s womens strength that keeps it going

Pretty Western focused, doesnt really look carefully at women across cultures

Question 11

The Women of Color Counseling Orientation

Answer 11

Perspective on Cause of Problems
Oppressive, especially racist and ethnocentric, societal structures

Focus of Interventions

Social change aimed at eliminating all forms of oppression; consciousness raising about negative impact of societal oppression on psychological well-being of people; honoring and celebrating diverse sets of cultural values

Because all of these feminisms were cultrually encapsulated, meaning they didnt even really see or hear women of other cultulres so ppl felt ignored.

This orientation says u have to take women of color seriously and say what about racism and what about ethnocentrism? How can we bring all of these things together? We need a feminism that puts race and ethnicity front and center.

Question 12

Common themes of feminist practice

Answer 12

a. promotes social change
b. assumes the personal is political
c. embraces diversity
d. includes an analysis of power and oppression
e. promotes collaboration
f. promotes self-reflection
g. asserts that misogyny and other inequalities are damaging

Question 13

What are the goals of feminist therapy? How does change happen?

Answer 13

• Help clients develop a feminist consciousness (an awareness of the effects of sexism, racism, classism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression)
• Help client understand ways that they have resisted patriarchy and find ways that they can continue to do this
• Help clients overcome the silencing effects of the patriarchy by finding their voice or”mother tongue”
• Empowerment

Broad goal of feminist intervention that enables individuals, families and communities to exert influence over personal, interpersonal and institutional factors that impact their health and well-being

Question 14

4 Principles guiding the work of empowerment feminist therapy

Answer 14

1. Personal and social identities are interdependent
2. the personal is political
3. relationships are egalitarian
4. women’s perspectives are valued

Question 15

Process of Feminist Therapy

Answer 15

• cultural analysis
• social identities analysis
• gender-role analysis
• power analysis
• consciousness raising groups
• counselor self disclosure/self-involvement
• bibliotherapy
• Reframing and relabeling

Question 16

Strategies for examining the cultural contexts of clients’ lives

Answer 16

• How is the client’s issue defined by the dominant culture?
• What societal myths or beliefs are related to the issue?
• How is client’s social location related to the issue?

Theory of change

• empowerment leads to change
• consciousness raising enables clients to separate external from internal sources of issues
• clients work to undo the internalized negative effects and alter their social contexts

Question 17

The relationship in feminist therapy

Answer 17

Emphasizes an egalitarian relationship= a relationship that is structured to move toward equality of power

Focuses both on the “real” relationship and the “symbolic” relationship. The symbolic relationship is like transference, but focused more on projected meanings related to past experiences with power hierarchies.

Supports a co-expert model, where therapist is expert on learnable change processes and client is expert on her or his own experience

Question 18

Sociocultural theories-overview

Answer 18

• Refers to a family of theories focused on the role of social and cultural factors in human functioning
• Basic assumption is that sociocultural factors influence the way people a.) experience and define psychological problems and b.) cope with their psychological problems and c.) interact and interpret information in the counseling relationship

Question 19

Two major focus areas of sociocultural theories

Answer 19

Cultural differences–cultures can differ greatly from one another in values, norms, conceptions of self and other, communication styles, etc. These differences can have important implications for the success of different counseling interventions

Oppression and Power- within societies, socially-defined subgroups differ widely with respect to power, privilege, and esteem. Such differences can be internalized at the individual level, and can have a profound effect on the counseling relationship

Question 20

Hofstede’s major dimensions of cultural difference –how might they lead to misunderstanding in counseling if not considered in a thoughtful manner?

Answer 20

-Small vs. large power distance:
The degree to which differences in power, status and privileges between individuals are considered to be proper
High power distance refers to a cultural tendency to accept inequality of status and power. Clearly defined hierarchies, between socioeconomic lines, parent-child, teacher-student, boss-worker. (High: Mexico, most of CA/SA, Asia, Med; Low: US, Canada, Germanic)

Collectivism vs. individualism

• Individualism versus collectivism, aka as low-context vs high-context cultures. Dimension distinguishes between I and we as the primary unit of identity
  2. High individualism refers to a cultural tendency to put a higher value on individual interests than on the interests of the group. Independence and self-definition is a major goal. Should be able to say what’s on your mind, develop your own opinions. (High: US, Canada, Anglo, Germanic, Med; Low: Mexico, Asia, CA/SA)

Femininity vs Masculinity
-AKA achievement orientation versus cooperation orientation
-In masculine cultures, both genders are achievement oriented, although men are assumed to be more achievement oriented than women are
-In feminine cultures, both genders are assumed to be cooperation oriented
High masculinity refers to a cultural tendency to value competitiveness, toughness, and having an achievement orientation. Men tend to dominate politics, the community, the workplace. Performance and public success is very important. Stress results and performance at work. (H: US, Mex, Can, Ger/Swiss; L: Scand, asian, ca/sa)

Weak vs. Strong uncertainty Avoidance
-Uncertainty avoidance versus uncertainty tolerance. This has to do w/ the tolerance to ambiguity, not with the tolerance to measurable risks 4.
Uncertainty avoidance refers to a cultural tendency to prefer high levels of rules, structures, and clearly defined values. Preference for a predictable society and life, and suspicion of the unusual or deviant. (H: Mex, Germanic; L: US, scand)

Question 21

Racial Identity Theory

Answer 21

• Assumes that race is not a biological reality, but rather a sociopolitical and economic convenience defined by socially based criteria (skin color)
• Assumes that some racial groups receive more societal resources and privileges than others
• Focuses on the meaning that people make of their own race and other races. This is what is meant by racial identity
• Assumes that racial identity ALWAYS plays a role in the counseling relationship

Question 22

Helms’s people of color racial identity “ego statuses”

Answer 22

Pre-encounter= devalues own group, values white standards of merit
Encounter= feels ambivalence, confusion about own racial group membership
Immersion/Emersion= idealizes own group; denigrates White standards. Hypervigilant to signs of prejudice
Internalization= values own group, responds objectively to whites
Integrative Awareness= values ones multiple identities; empathizes with other oppressed minorities

Question 23

Helm’s White Racial Identity ego statuses

Answer 23

Contact= is satisfied with status quo, "color blind"
Disintegration= is disoriented and anxious about racial deilemmas; has uneasy awareness of one's Whiteness
Reintegration= idealizes whiteness; has little empathy for people of color. can do this passively or actively
Pseudoindependence= has an intellectual tolerance for other racial groups. Guilt regarding one's own whiteness
Immersion/Emersion= faces white privilege in a personal manner. Attempts to find ways of positive white identity
Autonomy= Internalizes, nurtures and applies new meaning of whiteness. Attempts to abandon racist practices

Question 24

HOw might racial identity affect counseling?

Answer 24

We should not ask WHETHER race is relevant in counseling, but HOW it is relevant
-Helms identified four types of counseling relationships based on racial identity status used by counselor and client

Paralell-same in terms of racial identity. Can be helpful

Regressive-Counselor has a less developed racial identity development status than the client–tends to be unhelpful

Progressive-counselor has a more developed racial identity development status than client. tends to be helpful

crossed-counselor and client have opposing racial identity statuses that tend to create conflict