Constructing feminist counselling: ‘equality’ as a discursive resource in counsellors' talk

Abstract

Feminist counselling has an uneasy relationship with mainstream counselling approaches. Feminist counselling/therapy is diverse both in theory and in the practice of those who refer to themselves as feminist counsellors, which means that many counsellors outside the feminist tradition are unclear about what it entails. There are also tensions between the discourses of feminism and of therapy (Maracek and Kravetz, 1998). This makes for confusion in the wider counselling population about the nature and validity of feminist counselling. In this study I asked counsellors (not selected on the basis of feminist identifi cation) about their understanding of feminist counselling. They attached four main meanings to feminist counselling: exclusivity, imposing a viewpoint, broader perspectives and a commitment to equality. In exploring the validity of feminist counselling the participants drew on competing meanings of equality, namely relational equality and external equality. This contrasts with much feminist counselling writing, which claims these as complementary.

Community-based participatory research in counselling and psychotherapy

“…CBPR can, additionally, provide an arena in which therapy can engage with social justice and action towards social change, which for many therapists is an important value (Samuels, 2006), and one which is sometimes seen as difficult to operationalise in an activity that combines close attention to privacy with a largely individualist process (Spong, 2008;Spong & Hollanders, 2005). CBPR provides an opportunity for counselling and psychotherapy to engage with a social justice agenda.…”

Validity, Vision and Vocalisation: Social Responsibility Arguments and Power-Sensitised Counselling

“…The third set of data relates to the responses of participants in the same study to the notion of “feminist counselling” (Spong, ). Findings pointed to participants' acceptance or rejection of feminist counselling as mediated by their use of differing constructions of the concept of equality.…”

“…In order to consider this subject and this discourse, I draw on findings of two small research projects which used interviews and focus groups to explore therapists' views on counsellor influence and issues of social power. The outcomes of these projects have been published elsewhere (Spong, , ; Spong & Hollanders, ). This paper reflects upon and further develops the implications of these findings for power‐sensitised practice (Milton & Legg, ; Spong & Hollanders, ).…”

Addressing social determinants of mental health in therapy: A thematic synthesis

“…There is a growing body of literature on addressing social determinants in therapy, and a number of different frameworks have been developed to inform practice to take into account the role of sociopolitical context and inequality, the majority of which originate from feminist and multicultural counselling literature (Avissar, 2016; Collins & Arthur, 2010; Day‐Vines et al, 2007; Mosher et al, 2017; Spong, 2008, 2012; Spong & Hollanders, 2006, Vera & Speight, 2003). There is a significant overlap in these frameworks, and several authors have drawn from their commonalities to create sets of principles for a social justice approach to therapy, which seeks to frame inequalities and issues of power and oppression at the centre of understanding psychological distress (Afuape, 2011; Chávez et al, 2016; Crethar et al, 2008; Goodman et al, 2004; Johnstone & Boyle, 2018; Winter, 2019).…”