My philosophy as a feminist therapist leads me to view people from a perspective of health. Historically, traditional psychology saw people as defective and viewed the human condition as pathological. This has been extremely harmful to all of us, especially to women, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender variant people, people suffering from economic hardship or trauma, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees; virtually anyone who was different from "the norm". "Normal" was defined as white, cisgender, male, heterosexual and middle class. Anyone who didn't fit that description was considered sick or mentally ill. The culture of white supremacy, sexism, homophobia and other prejudices are at the root of this damaging pressure to conform to this definition of "normal".
I actively challenge that viewpoint in my work. Intersectional feminism and anti-racism informs my thinking about what struggles people bring with them to therapy. When I talk with people I work with, I look at what is already working in their lives, as well as their struggles. Every one has a unique life story that is intertwined with the larger social, cultural and political world and together, we explore how these various aspects of life affect them. One goal of therapy is empowering individuals to make changes in their lives -- and to discover where change needs to happen in the larger world. Isn't therapy about changing oneself? Often it is. However, personal change may not be enough. Far too often people try to "fix" themselves when the fix needs to be made in the world around them. One example is the body-hate many women face as a result of our cultures pressure to look "young, thin, perfect". If a woman thinks the problem is hers alone, she may spend her life trying to look like that idealized version of womanhood. If she challenged the belief that women should look like Barbie dolls, she might instead find herself softening her harsh criticisms of her body, redirecting body hate towards working to change our culture's unrealistic standards of beauty. Challenging societal attitudes about body shaming, instead of changing her body can be a deeply empowering and transforming experience.
Obviously, therapy alone cannot change societal ills. Yet trauma affects a great many people in our culture, which can lead to psychological numbing that alienates them from their feelings and their bodies. Through learning to appreciate that trauma responses were the best possible adaptation to overwhelming experiences at the time of trauma, healing those wounds can be transformative. By doing so, one can regain the ability to "know what I know and feel what I feel". Having access to our feelings can provide us with self knowledge and inner strength to name what is wrong in the world, regaining a sense of personal power and of coming home to oneself. From this place of more solid ground beneath our feet, we are more equipped to contribute to healing the injustices we face as a community.
Women's Psychotherapy Centre of Wisconsin, LLC Madison, WI 608.255.4747