Feminist Issues in Couple Therapy

Abstract

The authors reviewed the feminist couple therapy literature from 1995 to 2006. They summarized this large body of work into several key themes. The first revealed that feminist couples therapists are continuing to discuss and deconstruct gender issues in couple therapy. The second showed that feminists believe that therapists should be educated both academically and personally about culture and diversity so as to support couples in their therapy around their own issues of diversity as well as learning to deal with issues of social justice as a couple. In the third theme, the authors introduced readers to feminists' emphasis on connection and empathy within couple and sex therapy. And, in the fourth, the authors explored feminists' work with power in couple therapy as they applied to couple therapy in general as well as around the specific topics of: balancing family and work and therapy for familial violence.

Key Words:

• Feminist couple therapy
• family therapy
• marital therapy
• feminist research
• feminist counseling
• feminist psychotherapy
• couples
• lesbian couples
• gay couples
• gender
• gender roles
• self-of-the-therapist
• culture
• interracial couples
• sex therapy
• communication
• work and family
• couple violence
• marital violence
• power