Feminist Therapy

by Laura S. Brown

In Feminist Therapy, Laura S. Brown explores the history, theory, and practice of this groundbreaking approach. Feminist therapy not only listens to, but privileges, the voices and experiences of those who have been defined as other by dominant cultures. Feminist therapy thus shifts the value of knowledge claims from those of culturally appointed experts to the expertise of the oppressed. This is a perspective that, when made central to analysis and practice, is potentially transformative of everything about therapy-as-usual in dominant cultures. In the four decades since its inception as an approach, the theory has evolved significantly from psychotherapy for women, where it functioned primarily as a corrective against the sexist approaches of the era, into a sophisticated, postmodern, technically integrative model of practice that uses the analysis of gender, social location, and power as a primary strategy for comprehending human difficulties. Feminist therapy has become a practice that encompasses work with women, men, children, families, and larger systems. In this book, Dr. Brown presents and explores this approach, its theory, history, the therapy process, primary change mechanisms, empirical basis, and future developments. This essential primer to feminist therapy, amply illustrated with case examples, is perfect for graduate students studying theories of therapy and counseling as well as for seasoned practitioners interested in understanding this approach.

Genres: Psychology, Counselling, Feminism, Nonfiction, Social Justice, Social Work, School

153 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Dr. Laura S. Brown is a clinical and forensic psychologist in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Brown has taught at Argosy University, University of Washington, and Southern Illinois University.

Dr. Brown practices from a feminist perspective. She has received many honors. Dr. Brown has published a number of articles, books, and programs throughout her successful career.

Dr. Brown has served a number of psychological organizations including the Washington State Psychological Association as the President, State Legislative Advocacy Coordinator, Webmaster, Convention Program Chair, and many other high ranking positions within the WSPA.

Dr. Brown is the current director of the Fremont Community Therapy Project and she maintains a private practice in the greater city of Seattle.

Reviews

[Brittany]

Laura Brown refines feminist therapy as a theory in a way that is accessable and applicable to practice. I relied on this book as an articulate source for my portfolio defense of my chosen theoretical orientation for my masters in mental health counseling. The field of psychology often (incredibly) forgets that feminist therapists in the 70's were the hell raisers that pushed for so many of the ethical standards we now take for granted in the field.

[zei]

güzel kurgulanmış ve kapsamlı kaynaklara yönlendiren bir giriş kitabı. türkçeye çevirisini okuyanus yapmış ve o kadar kötü olmuş ki. bazı kısımlarını anlayamadım bile... bu kitaba bir daha uğrarsam ingilizcesine bakacağım.

[Carla Sousa]

This was definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. As a psychologist, and mainly in the clinical realm, the relationship between neoliberal patriarchal society and therapy practice is very disturbing.
Feminist therapy offers an alternative that is empowering. I believe that what striked me the most is the “symptom as resistance” approach, that totally changes how we see “psychopathology”, respecting it as part of an oppressed existence. The book even goes beyond by exploring self inflicted violence in such an empowering and respectful manner that I felt very inspired to go more in depth and explore this within my community and in my practice.
I will read the complete set of Laura S. Brown’s books, for sure.

[Wenjing]

打开这本书实在太——久了，从感叹好先进呀，到吐槽怎么除了女性还要关心男的，到现在。再次从头开始读的时候我提醒自己，作者提到“不止关注女性”的时候或许不是指向男性，而是指向更多元的身份呢？种族、阶级、残障都可以说“不止关注女性”吧。结果越读越打脸，也太爱拿男的举例子了（男的想多带孩子，怎么帮助家暴男等等），太坏了。另外一点不是很喜欢的地方是讲“女性主义疗法”完全是从心理咨询的角度，完全没有讲女性主义的发展，挺没劲的。以及现在很多我很习以为常的咨询的设定，居然都已经属于“女性主义心理咨询”的范畴了，怪不得第二波女权运动的激进女权主义者反对心理咨询了。不过也很好奇radfem们对新的更女权一些心理咨询还是持有否定的态度吗。

[Calli]

This is a really great primer to Feminist Therapy and theory for clinical psychology. It has a great scope and is really a must-read for anyone that wants to practice from a feminist perspective.

[Rosy]

This book will stay on my shelf for reference. Very good put dense.

[Ioanna-nolia]

A sufficient introduction, that lacked depth in certain useful parts and spent too many pages redefining feminism to be for everyone and everything.

[Laur]

A short overview and engaging read. Inspiring. Technical. Affirming. Honest. Integrative. Radical. Timeless. Loved it.

[B]

Read it for a class. Very readable. Very compelling.

[Naomi Arnold]

A must read for therapists, coaches and helping professionals.

[Arianna]

A relatively simple primer. Maybe a bit too simple for me, as I would love more process focus, but it does clearly elaborate on the mission, vision, and values of the modality.

[sid graham]

This read was unexpectedly epic. Feminist therapy goes beyond treating symptoms as pathology, instead contextualizing distress and dysfunction within the oppressive systems that shape an individual's experience. This approach involves analyzing gender, social context, and power dynamics, viewing symptoms as indicators of resistance. The ultimate goal is empowerment, focusing on 4 primary and interconnected domains: somatic, intrapersonal, social-contextual, and existential. Feminist therapy posits the rule of the client-as-expert and implores practitioners to meet the client where they are.

[David Bradley]

A clear explication of Feminist Therapy, by one of the leaders in the movement. It gets five stars because the book does what it claims to do: can't ask for much more than that. Add to that the fact that feminist therapy is one of the four most important movements in psychotherapy (psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and cognitivism being the other three), and you've got a must-read for any mental health practitioner.

[Quin Rich]

Amazing. This makes so much sense to me as a committed feminist and training social worker. Everyone should read this book. Feminist therapy is just good therapy. Every clinician should employ this framework no matter their other theoretical orientation.