Feminist Therapy Overview – Arts & Humanities Assignment Help

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Introduction
Many distinct components of various theories, models, and therapies have been brought together in an integrative counselling approach to psychotherapy (Zarbo et al., 2016). Integrative therapists believe that each client in every scenario requires a unique blend of expertise and evidence-based treatment (Zarbo et al., 2016). This essay will take an integrative approach to postmodern paradigms like Feminist Therapy and Narrative Therapy, looking at their history, essential concepts, skills, and application in psychotherapy. The models will be differentiated in terms of their core assumptions and practises, and a personal approach to integration will be applied to the models in this essay. This essay will conclude with a clear practical illustration of integration by explaining the inner decision-making experience that occurs in articulating integration decision points.

Feminist Therapy Overview
Feminist therapy has experienced rapid growth and transformation during its two decades of existence (Bowen, 2010). The “third force” psychotherapies emerged in the 1960s strongly by women practitioners that offered a viable alternative to what was seen as the misogyny and determinism within psychotherapy (Bowen, 2010). During this time, several corporations commenced programs particularly proposed to support women in women’s health centres and domestic violence shelters (Bowen, 2010). Ellyn Kaschak had beginnings as a founder of one of the first feminist counselling services in the early 1970s (Pitts & Kawahara, 2017). Ellyn Kaschak, the American clinical psychologists was born in 1943, Kaschak’s observation was influenced by Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus Complex, and further adapted it to the women experiencing stereotypical problems in modern society (Pitts & Kawahara, 2017).
Feminist therapy voices all individuals who have experiences in marginalisation, oppression and to be valued with their experiences as honour (Kaufmann, 2018). Feminist Therapy focuses to empower women by supporting them discover the breakage of stereotypes or traditional roles that women play and its effects on their growth and development (Evans et al., 2010). The development aspects of supporting clients in feminist therapy mainly focuses to support women strengthen their communication, assertiveness, self-esteem and relationships (Evans et al., 2010). Feminist therapy comprises its theory into six tenants; power, egalitarian relationships, strengthening women, non-victim blaming, education and feeling accepted (Draganovi?, 2012). The power tenet within feminist therapy is found to enable women gain use of power within relationships while exploring the fitting values and consequences of their actions (Draganovi?, 2012). The egalitarian relationships are used to concede equalising responsibility and assertiveness relationships between the therapist and clients, models for women personal in other relationships. The feminist therapy concept of strengthening women focuses on a woman’s flaws, struggles, and weaknesses by looking for ways to apply her strengths to her problems. Non-victim blaming is a very important tenant known as honouring the client’s dignity of human experience while addressing their issue that is significant to their matter. The education tenant addresses the teaching to recognise client’s cognitions that have become detrimental and to encourage themselves for the benefit of all women. The final tenant is acceptance, which focuses on validating the clients feeling by the therapist valuing self-disclosure and attempting to remove ‘we-they’ barrier of traditional therapeutic relationships (Draganovi?, 2012).
Feminist therapy importance to helping women through their journey comprises of practice principle skills for effective therapy (Garner & Enns, 2012). Feminist therapy encourages the implementation of clients viewing themselves as experts when it comes to their matters and experiences (Evans et al., 2010). Self-agency practice principle is known as the key skill utilised within feminist therapy, by directing a practice with a client through questioning an enablement taking as much responsibility, understanding and learning of their own stance for change (Wykle, 2015). Feminist therapy also encourages open discussion of the power differences existing between the therapist and client, by the “power with” not “power over” principle skill. The power practice principle skills view the client as the expert of their lives, by questioning the client’s knowledge and skills to assert themselves as the specialist instead of imposing a co-constructing new meaning (Wykle, 2015). The therapist in feminist therapy is seen as an equal relationship with an outside viewpoint who can explore alternatives and provide guidance with new information, although still maintaining the client as having the control to construct their own desired outcome in their lives (Ruiz, 1998). The role of therapist is to believe that the client views themselves as the ‘expert’ in their issues and assist with developing the tools necessary to reach their full potential as valuable individual (Ruiz, 1998).
The application of a therapist practicing within feminist therapy comprises of many understanding and responsibility. Therapist must apply self-disclosure which holds an authentic relationship that is essential to the therapeutic process, the therapist uses appropriate self-disclosure within the relationship to elicit and encourage feedback from the client (Malone, 2000). The bibliotherapy skill is when the therapist recommends articles, books, or websites that may help the client better comprehend their situation or cope with difficult situations. Applying power analysis explores the social position and the aspect of how privilege can impact client’s experiences, decisions, self-worth, attitude and behaviours (Mahaney, 2007). The reframing application used by the therapist assists the client in seeing a certain thought or problem in a fresh perspective, focusing on the role of social forces in the problem. Social activism may be offered as an intervention if a client is interested and it is appropriate. The benefits of social action may be therapeutic in a number of ways including social connection with others around shared values and cultivating a feeling of personal power (Mahaney, 2007).

Narrative Therapy Overview
The development of Narrative therapy evolved 1980s which additionally gained its evolutions during 1990 within the United States (Beels, 2009). Michael Kingsley White and David Epston were the originators of Narrative therapy, together they developed ideas, theories, continuing their journey and eventually published Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends (Madigan, 2011). White was born and raised in South Australia, and practiced social work while authoring several books of family therapy and narrative therapy. David Epston, a New Zealand therapist and faculty member at North Dakota State University’s PhD programme in Couple and Family Therapy, was born in 1944 (Madigan, 2011). Narrative theory was based on the idea that people have many interacting narratives that go into making up their sense of who they are, and that the issues they bring to therapy are influenced and shaped by cultural discourses about identity and power, rather than being limited to the clients themselves (Madigan, 2011).
Narrative therapy is known as a non-pathologizing therapy that focuses on the effects of problems have impacted on a client’s life rather than labelling the person as the problem (Dickerson, 2016). White and Epston developed a non-pathologizing narrative therapy from three main conceptual ideas; respecting client, non-blaming, client is the expert (Morgan, 2000). Narrative therapy projects a respectful treatment to clients as brave and agentic individuals who can recognise working strategies to address their issues (Morgan, 2000). Narrative Therapy enables the client to feel nonjudgmental, no blaming or at fault with their problem, instead it is viewed as separate aspect between the client and their problem (Dickerson, 2016).
The narrative work of Michael White and others introduced the ideas of transparency and decentering practices into family therapy. With transparency, therapists make the origins of their ideas clear to clients. They may come from their own life experiences, conceptual models, or from their experiences in talking and working with families (White, 1995a). Use of the term ‘‘transparent’’ more clearly broadens the practices beyond self-disclosure by including disclosure about theoretical stances and therapeutic work with other clients. Later, in writing about decentering, White moved deliberately into shifting power dynamics intherapy.Heviewsclientsasexpertswhohave much to share with other clients through advice that they pass on to one another, support groups that they form, or stories that they share of their own experiences (White, 1997). Team members ask questions of each other in front of clients; this emphasizes what team members are learning from them (Lax, 1995; White, 1995b). However, much is left out with regard to the interplay of the social identities described earlier that clients and therapists bring to therapy, along with issues of visible and invisible social identities, safety, and power White and Epton introduced the ideas of transparency skills and decentring practices into narrative therapy. The introduction of utilising transparency practice principle skill makes the therapist form origins of clearly their ideas to clients (Roberts, 2005). Transparency practice principle broadens the idea of practicing self-disclosure of the theoretical stance and therapeutic processes with other clients (Roberts, 2005). White later went consciously towards altering power dynamics in therapy in his writing about decentring. White sees clients as specialists who have a lot to offer other clients in the form of guidance, support groups, and tales about their own experiences (White, 1997). In narrative therapy, White describes the therapist’s role as “de-centered but influential”, decentred to which it respects the privileges prioritises of the client’s experiences, worries, and objectives; it is influential because the therapist’s questions shape the discourse (White, 1997).
The application of apply narrative therapy into a session compromises of practices such as externalising, negotiating, mapping, evaluation and re-authoring. Externalising conversations are formed through maps which are categorised into different concepts of recognising that problems are separate from the client, which frees clients to view new selections for adapting with problems (Ramey et al., 2009). Therapists apply a mapping application that influences the problem and presence of the client’s life, specifically in the client’s thoughts, relationships and environment (Walter, 2018). The therapist further applies an evaluation of the effects from problem by facilitating the conversation that explores the actions in clients’ lives, and its impacts of the consequential actions (Walter, 2018). The deconstructing application is known for reducing the client’s problem from their experience and making phrasing it easier to understand the whole picture by getting the client to express vulnerable feeling from the root of their issue (Morss & Nichterlein, n.d.). The therapist further justifies the evaluation by exploring the client’s orientation toward the developments discovered in the previous stage, therapists can enquire questioning by asking “Why is this growth okay/not okay for you?”. Alternatively, therapists may ask for tales, such as “Would you tell me a story from your life that would help me understand why you would take this viewpoint on this development?” (Carey & Russel, n.d.). The therapist then initiates a re authoring conversation by co-authoring story-lines that will aid in the resolution of whatever issues brought the client to counselling (Carey & Russel, n.d.).

Central principles and assumptions of Feminist Therapy in practice
Feminist therapy is a gender fair, flexible, multicultural, interactionist and lifespan-oriented concept for women (Garner & Enns, 2012). While there are different types, such as radical, liberal and socialist feminist therapy, all feminist therapists believe in collaboration and work to empower the client (Ostrouch, 2008). Feminist therapy undertakes that social cultural condition constitutes the primary source of women’s problems; that their personal is political which means that personal experiences are embedded in political situations, contexts, and realities (Ostrouch, 2008). The client counsellor relationship should be egalitarian in feminist therapy which encourages equality between the therapist and the client, women’s experiences are honoured and they should get in touch with their personal experiences and intuition, and the empowerment of the client towards self-determination is the positive effect of counselling (Garner & Enns, 2012). In feminist therapy, clinicians seek to level traditional power dynamics in the client-therapist relationship, viewing the client as a collaborator and an expert on their own experience (Garner & Enns, 2012).
Specifically implementing these practice principles in my workplace as a mental health supporter, majority of our clients come from low socio-economic status that has affected them financially stressed, isolated from society and depressed. Empowering and understanding a client’s problem requires adopting a social cultural perspective, and that empowerment of the individual and societal changes are crucial goals in therapy. Implementing this central principle within my practice has enabled clients to be aware of the power to change and define themselves through therapeutic tool with new insight and information. Research has found that informing these central principles within feminist therapy that the client’s pain and resistance are viewed as a positive confirmation of the desire to live and overcome distress rather than being viewed as weak (Mahaney, 2007).

Central principles and assumptions of Narrative Therapy in practice
Underlying assumptions of narrative therapy as bringing therapy into the postmodern world and completely revolutionizing the role of the counsellor and the process has emphasised on central principles (Morris, 2007). Assumptions that underlie Narrative Therapy have been principled that the client’s problem is the problem, have expertise on their own lives, can become the primary authors of the stories of their own lives (Teesneer, 2015). Narrative Therapy declares there is no truth, only different interpretations of reality, which becomes as a meaning constructed problem in social, cultural, and political contexts (Teesneer, 2015). There are always occasions in people’s life upon which they have escaped a problem’s influence, ensuring an atmosphere of curiosity, respect and transparency is the responsibility of the professional (Teesneer, 2015). The therapist and the client are on equal footing, but it is the client who has intimate knowledge of his or her own life. As a result, therapy is meant to be a collaboration between the client and the therapist in which the therapist views the client as having all the capabilities, skills, and knowledge necessary to address their problems.
In relation to my work context of mental health supporter, Narrative therapy has enabled me to open doors as a counsellor and become a researcher to utilize narrative research methods to deepen my clients understanding of the issues and problems. Collaborating with clients is a major technique utilised within my workplace to support clients as ‘companions’ to share their story, this form of technique has a unique characteristic of projecting language and meaning. Language is known as the main vehicle through which we give meaning to our world and to conceptualize therapy as a conversational process and believe that dialogue and conversation generate meaning (Anderson & Gehart, 2012). By utilizing the narrative research methodology, I was able discover that my clients were influenced by the way they think and talk about their problems may contribute to further sinking into them or being able to contemplate new possibilities. Further sessions have shown a progress of moving forward from their problems and showing optimistic attitudes towards new opportunities that can benefit their emotional wellbeing.

Personal Approach to Integration
In my work as a mental health supporter I attempt to integrate helping clients with establishing their inner and external contact. My personal approach to integrating within psychotherapy has been under the influence of feminist theory, specifically in areas working with Muslim families where women are oppressed to stay home as ‘house wives’. I work at the Uniting Care as a family supporter, where I assist women who are or have been distressed by stereotypical porotypes. The personal style I implement within the therapeutic processes has always been intended to follow the structure, process or criteria from specific models, skills and theories. Specially in my mental health supporter work context as a volunteer, I have already been given a strict following of structural models implemented amongst our clients. My personal style to an integrative approach accumulates many beneficial practices of learning, utilising and projecting within Narrative therapy practices.
The value of letting clients feel heard of their experiences is an important aspect I value within all my practices, simply questioning their overall feelings have led into conversations of listening to their life stories in my experience. I also believe that when a client is expressing the narrative story it becomes a value of care and alliance between the therapist and client. therefore, implementing storytelling from a narrative therapeutic concept has been a significantly effective usage within my workplace practices and experiences with clients. My personal style is also influenced by my values such as following models core concepts, client fairness and client alliance. Obeying rules and strictly following the provided models has become a valuable aspect of implementing therapeutic processes within my workplace. My value of keeping a scheduled list of structures from models and skills has secured my fear of lacking, overlooking or disregarding specific needs of therapy processes for a client. Therefore, disobeying my works organisation resources is a detrimental consideration upon my role, and also for viewing my professional reputation as an incompetent volunteer of disobeying model procedures. Although, I believe story telling is a necessary aspect of practice within a range of therapeutic processes, therefore implementing storytelling from a narrative therapy approach within my workplace models has been a secondary usage to my counselling practice.
Seeking other resources of skills and models has become quite a difficult journey for my role as a Mental health supporter, specifically due to the fact I cannot request a whole new model utilisation with a client. My fear of interfering with the workplace therapeutic procedures had become a reluctance of confidence with my superior. I have recognised that this lack of confidence of sharing and implementing other therapeutic techniques with clients had resulted with satisfaction of support, care and treatment. More specifically, I had been working with a specific client for months and have slowly lost base of communicating factors that has contributed to their personal issues, this recognition of implementing the same skills and techniques had become an overwhelming projection for the client. Overusing a specific model and skills provided by my workplace had resulted in client shutting down their collaborative alliance due to repetitive utilisations of therapeutic processes.

Practical Examples of Integration
The assimilative integrative approach more specifically has resonated many learning of practices that can be incorporated with satisfying my values and workplace experiences. Assimilative integration considered within my personal approach of in cooperating Narrative Therapy mainly influences my role with satisfying collaborative approach, person-centred and humanistic processes with a client. Assimilative psychotherapy integration is known for conducting counselling or psychotherapy through different concepts, skills, techniques or perspective by incorporating from another form of therapy in preferred therapeutic approach. I value to commit to a framework that I have progressed through experiential occasions over the years. Therefore, in cooperating an assimilative approach such as utilising narrative therapies story telling technique has become a significantly effective use of practice within my workplace. Exploiting clients with a strict personal framework may become an overwhelming approach to their therapeutic session. Therefore, the value of seeking a different alternative approach for a client’s needs and comfort is an important aspect I also care upon. I value the whole idea of a client being approached with a comfortable skill, practising a specific act that demonstrates a comfortable approach for clients to show openness and explore their matters. Therefore, I understand how uncomfortable it would be for a client to be approached with a framework that becomes awkward and difficult. Every practioners approaches, skills, techniques, models and theory’s work differently for clients, therefore I want to gain a client treatment satisfaction that the outcome of therapy has been effective, through exploring other theoretical approaches that is convoyed to integrate techniques from other therapeutic approaches. 
My experiences that have associated with the use of assimilative integration has been quite a daunting experience due to my strict model following provided by the organisation. Specifically, with a client I have been working with for a few weeks who has been showing lack of communication and unwillingness to share their narrative story. I have acknowledged concerns with the ineffective outcome of clients to my superior and recommended other skills and techniques that can be a useful tool for therapeutic process. Although this request had been rejected due to following my volunteer role as a mental health supporter, which was acknowledged for a better use of higher professionals to implement other skills, theories and models for clients. Although, whilst still committing to provided models by the organisation, I incorporated other skills and techniques to learn, experience and satisfy the therapeutic process. According to Gold and Stricker’s (2001), the psychodynamic views theories that have inconsistent technique that no longer apply of effectiveness, the theory must alter a change of impact to accommodate the findings and treatment.