Assertiveness Training

1a
teaching/promoting assertive behavior, women become
aware of their interpersonal rights, transcend
stereotypical gender roles, change negative beliefs, and
implement changes in their daily lives.
*increase own power, affecting the depression, susan
learns that it is her right to ask for what she wants and
needs.
*Therapist helps susan evaluate & anticipate the
consequences of behaving assertively, which might range
from criticism to actually getting what she wants.
1b
Bibliotherapy

2a
nonfiction books, psychology and counseling textbooks,
autobiographies, self-help books, educational videos, fins,
and even novels are resources for poepl to learn about
feminist perspectives are common. (i.e. incest, rape,
battering, sexual harassment)
*may challenge a women's tendency to blame herself
with thee problems
*increases knowledge & decreases the power differences
btw susan and her therapist.
*supplement with therapy by enhancing her therapy by
exploring her reactions to what she is reading
2b
empowerment

3a
heart of feminist strategies
-Therapist will pay attention to informed consent issues,
discussing way susan can get the most from therapy,
clarifying expectations, identifying goals, & working
toward a contract that will guide the therapeutic process.
*by explaining how therapy works & enlisting susan as an
active partner, the process is demystified and susan
becomes an equal participant.
*client will learn that she is charge of direction, length, &
procedures in her therapy.
3b
Gender-Role Analysis

4a
hallmark of F. therapy, explores the impact of expectations on client's
psychological well-being & draws upon this info to make decisions about
future behaviors.
*intervention serves both the function of assessment & promotion of client
change
*begins w/ clients identify the societal messages they received about how
women & men should be & act.
-The therapist begins by asking susan to identify messages that she received
related to weight/appearance from society,peers, media & family.
-The therapist talks about how body image expectations differ btw female &
males in our culture/various other cultures.
*susan decides what messages to keep and others to have open awareness
when the discounting messages play in her head.
4b
Gender-Role Intervention

5a
therapist responds to susan's concern by placing it inthe
context of society's role expectations forwomen.
*aim is to provide susan w/insight into the ways that social
issues are affecting her.
Therapist responds with what our society focuses on and
what's on the media (being thin) i.e.. many girls are dieting
in schools//this gives insight to how these expectations
have affected her psychological condition and have
contributed to her feeling depressed.
*might pave the path for her to think more positively and
may also contribute as a role model for young girls.
5b
group work

6a
used for consciousness-raising &
support, providing an avenue for women
to share their experiences of oppression
and powerlessness. Creates of sense of
empowerment, decrease feelings of
isolation, explore messages that may
have been internalized about self worth
6b
Power Analysis

7a
refers to the range of methods aimed at helping clients understand
how unequal access to power and resources can influence
personal realities. Together therapists and clients explore how
inequities or institutional barriers often limit self-definition and well-
being.
*helps susan identify alternate kinds of power she may exercise
and to challenge the gender-role messages that prohibit the
exercise of that kind of power.
*interventions are aimed at helping susan learn to appreciate
herself as she is, regain her self-confidence based on the
personality attributes she possesses, and set goals that will be
fulfilling to her and do not depend on whether she "finds a man".
7b
Reframing

8a
includes a shift from "blaming the victim" to a
consideration of social factors in the
environment that contribute to a client's
problem. *rather than dwelling on intrapsychic
factors, the focus is on examining societal or
political dimensions. ex) susan may come to
understand that her depression is linked to
social pressures to have the ideal body rather
than stemming from some deficiency within.
8b
Relabeling

9a
an intervention that changes the
label or evaluation applied to some
behavioral characteristic. ex)susan is
encouraged to talk about herself as
a strong and healthy women then
being unattractive/inadequate
because she is not thin.
9b
Self-Disclosure

10a
used to equalize the client-therapist relationship, to
provide modeling, to normalize women's collective
experiences, to empower clients, & to establish informed
consent.
-Therapist use this in the best interests of the client, by
considering timing & nature.
-helps to decrease power differentials, useful for
supporting clients, & can be liberating/empowering for
clients.
*Also involves a certain quality of presence the therapist
brings to the therapeuticsessions.
10b
social action/social activism

11a
essential quality of feminist therapy.
*may suggest to clients as they
become more grounded in their
understand of feminism that they
become involved in activities such
as volunteering at a rape crisis
center.
11b