The feminine therapy approach emphasizes gender as central to counseling. Which statement is NOT central?

The feminine therapy approach emphasizes gender as central to counseling. Which statement is NOT central?

• A. Personal issues have societal and political roots.
• B. The therapist maintains the expert role.
• C. Mental illness definitions are reformulated
• D. Oppression is viewed in an integrated fashion including privilege and gender expectations.

Answer: (B)

Feminist therapy centers gender and power in understanding distress and emphasizes collaboration, with the client viewed as the expert on her own life rather than a passive recipient of the therapist’s authority. This approach promotes shared decision-making and aims to empower clients, rather than having the therapist maintain an expert role. That stance aligns with the core ideas of feminist therapy, where personal issues are connected to societal and political contexts, mental illness definitions are examined and reformulated through a feminist lens, and oppression is understood in an integrated way that includes privilege and gender expectations. Therefore, the statement about the therapist preserving the expert role does not fit feminist therapy, making it the not-central option.

Feminist therapy centers gender and power in understanding distress and emphasizes collaboration, with the client viewed as the expert on her own life rather than a passive recipient of the therapist’s authority. This approach promotes shared decision-making and aims to empower clients, rather than having the therapist maintain an expert role. That stance aligns with the core ideas of feminist therapy, where personal issues are connected to societal and political contexts, mental illness definitions are examined and reformulated through a feminist lens, and oppression is understood in an integrated way that includes privilege and gender expectations. Therefore, the statement about the therapist preserving the expert role does not fit feminist therapy, making it the not-central option.