Feminist Family Therapy

A general assumption of feminist family therapy is that gender is an organizing construct that shapes the interactions of people and needs to be integrated into the work of a family therapist. Feminist family therapy (FFT) emerged in the 1970s when feminist theorists critiqued the field for not including gender issues in conversations pertaining to therapy. These values were fueled by social movements which urged therapists to consider how the construct of gender affected family dynamics. Feminist therapists also urged clinicians to consider their own role in the treatment of therapeutic clients and how their own views may be biased in regard to the roles, mental health, and abilities of women.

Feminist family therapy is an evolving set of ideas that inform the practice of marriage ...