Gender Sensitive Psychiatry and Feminist Therapy

Abstract

Gender, which expresses the roles given by a society to men and women unlike the biological sex of women and men, leads to discrimination and inequalities in many fields such as education, health, economy and social status. Today, the women who live in patriarchal societies are restricted by the pressure of gender roles, economic dependence, heavy responsibilities, negative attitudes, stereotypes towards women. All these cause women to often experience psychological problems like depression, anxiety, fear and low self-respect. The biomedical model and mainstream therapy approaches applied as a treatment for mental problems of the women are especially inadequate for producing permanent solutions for the problems experienced by women due to considering the symptoms only as biological changes, supporting traditional gender roles and ignoring characteristics such as culture, sex and ethnicity. As an alternative method, feminist therapy gives both the therapist and the client the opportunity of social and emotional development in daily life. Feminist therapy aims at helping the individuals discover their strengths rather than a disease-oriented approach and enabling individuals to get rid of their feelings of guilt and to acquire new skills. Feminist therapy is a modern approach specifically fulfilling the needs of women and aims at radical changes in society.