Feminist Therapy

As a feminist therapist, I understand how gender roles and societal expectations can influence our individuality and relationships with others. It can be hard to discern what is your own values and what ideas are prescribed from the outside world. I recognize that these issues affect all of us, regardless of our gender: male, female, non-binary, because we are all subject to loosing our authenticity when we have to perform expectations from others.

What forms of gender expression feel safest, most comfortable, or fun for you? Which forms feel unsafe or unavailable to you? Gender-based expectations and norms impact people of all genders, and may be holding you back from being yourself and feeling empowered. We will explore the ways that your gender impacts your life, including your values and any limiting beliefs that you may be internalizing from your upbringing, environment, or culture about yourself or others.

My practice and approach are deeply rooted in Feminist Therapy theory. I believe that transparency, shared power, awareness of oppression, and intersectionality are non-negotiables.

I want to find what works best for my clients and empower them to meet their goals. I am never afraid of a challenge and I truly believe anyone who really wants the support of counseling can find success in it.

I am an intersectional feminist, and this anti-oppressive approach guides my work. My clients are the experts of their lives; my role is not to provide expertise or to tell people how to live, but instead to support clients in becoming comfortable and confident in building and working from that place of self-knowledge. This also means considering the power structures that exist in the lives of my clients, in their families, communities, and cultures, and recognizing the impact of that backdrop.

Feminist therapy isn't just for women! It is a modality that focuses on client issues through the lens of the client's experience and context, both personal and social/political/cultural; therefore it works well for clients of all kinds of identities! Diverse perspectives are encouraged/supported and the therapy relationship is more egalitarian to minimize the power differential. In other words, I work alongside my clients to help them work through their difficulties in a strengths-based way.

I often use feminist therapy principles in my work, including its focus on social justice, empowerment, and the intersectionality of identities. My training includes insights into how societal structures impact mental health and the importance of addressing power dynamics in therapy. I can help explain key concepts, discuss techniques, and explore how feminist therapy can be applied in various contexts

Feminist therapy isn't just for women! It is a modality that focuses on client issues through the lens of the client's experience and context, both personal and social/political/cultural. Diverse perspectives are encouraged/supported and the therapy relationship is more egalitarian to minimize the power differential. In other words, I work alongside my clients to help them work through their difficulties in a strengths-based way.

I am well-trained in feminist psychotherapeutic practice with members of the queer community, racial/ethnic minority populations, and with women/womxn.

I was there at the beginning of the feminist therapy movement in the 1970's in Berkeley, CA. I remember working with other women to discover what a feminist approach to crisis/rape counseling might involve. My doctoral dissertation was a feminist analysis of women who attempt suicide. This was at a time when there was almost no research on why women made more attempts than men. The personal is political!

I am able to discuss and process systems of oppression that we all live in and how to change the systems. I will not discount your lived experience and will provide a safe space for you to tell your story.

I promote an egalitarian relationship with my clients, acknowledging they are the experts of their lives. I work with all clients, regardless of gender or sexual identity, on identifying areas of their life they experience oppression, and how it impacts their overall wellbeing. One of my greatest joys as a counselor is witnessing individuals become empowered to make choices and take actions that promote wellbeing, regardless of whether those choices are congruent with societal norms.

I work to stay open to and educated on a diverse array of approaches to gender and sexuality, I won’t shame you for the way you have sex or gaslight you about an experience that was non-consensual. It’s important to me to be LGBTQ+ Affirmative and a BIPOC Ally. I work with sex positive feminists of all genders, but my practice is focused on supporting women.

Feminism is the understanding that an individual's gendered experience intersect with race/ethnicity, class, power and privileges. I also believe that, unlike western forms of therapy, wellness does not end with symptom-reduction. Wellness includes an individual's ability to engage intentionally with others, become empowered to action, and feel motivated to move from a deeper place of value.

Feminist therapy examines how systems of oppression affect our lives. Ableism is often what my clients encounter the most, along with transphobia and homophobia. I talk with my clients about how their schools can be more accommodating to them and how they can have the best chance at success while advocating for themselves.

Let's be honest, systems of oppression are to blame here. I love supporting my clients in healing from systemic racism, sexism, fat-phobia, ableism, and queerphobia. You may not have control over these systems, but you do have control over how you show up for yourself in this sometimes fucked up world.

Identifying as female in our culture comes with so many landmines. Navigating relationships, work/life balance, parenting, misogyny, and so on. If you've clicked on this specialty, you know. I like to work from an feminist perspective to see how gender underlies other stressors. Feminism is intersectional, and if you identify as female (or on the feminine side of the spectrum) this space is for you.