Feminist Therapy

As a feminist therapist, I help examine stressors experienced as a result of biases, oppression and discrimination. I work with folks who are insightful and want to delve into the disconnects they’re experiencing: where stress, anxiety, or overwhelm is causing them to feel out of balance. I will give you the tools to take control of your life and uncover who you truly are, so you can resurface empowered and confident and live authentically.

I am rooted in anti-oppression as the lens through which we can make sense of many of our struggles. I believe in depathologizing mental illness by correctly identifying external sources of distress rather than seeing your pain as a personal problem. I have and continue to educate myself on systemic and interpersonal oppression in order to better understand the experiences of marginalized clients and to prevent harming my clients through my ignorance.

My therapy is always sensitive to issues of power, privilege, and oppression along many dimensions, not just gender. I approach feminism from an intersectional perspective, and am mindful of my own privileged identities as well. I take a collaborative, curious approach with all clients and recognize clients' expertise on their own lives.

Feminist Therapy is a meta-theory more than a specific modality. In my own work with it, I find that its purpose is to inform my overall practice with clients in a way that emphasizes empowerment and an egalitarian working relationship, among other things. One of its driving principles is to make marginalized viewpoints central, often addressing the concerns of people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with special needs, immigrants and refugees, and others.

Feminist therapy offers a unique lens, focusing on societal influences on mental health and advocating for gender equality. It emphasizes empowerment, challenging traditional gender roles, and addressing power dynamics in therapy. While historically focused on women's experiences, feminist therapy is inclusive and beneficial for people of all genders. It encourages men to explore how societal expectations impact their mental health and relationships, fostering personal growth and connection.

Empowering women--and men--to understand their experiences to the extent that cultural influences have played a role is a focus of my practice. I explore with my clients the ways in which their lives might be changed by living more true to themselves and finding the strength to do so.

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.

I view the treatment of gender-based violence, intimate partner violence and sexual assault through a feminist theory lens, meaning these experiences are the result of gender oppression and the cultural and societal attitudes and beliefs that support gender oppression. Therefore, my therapeutic orientation incorporates an empowerment approach as well as supporting clients in identifying how they have been impacted by gender oppression.

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 highly prioritize the equal value of all people, which means no one is more important or more valuable than anyone else. However, when experience has influenced your sense of self, you may struggle to life out that sense of worth. Therapy with me intentionally makes space to evaluate how you see yourself vs how you want to, so we can navigate a path forward together.

The problems that my clients face do not happen within a vacuum. Each one of my clients holds various identities -- race, gender, sexual orientation, religious, physical ability -- that contextualize and give shape to the experiences that they are having in the world. An intersectional, feminist approach to therapy takes into account the overlapping effects of each one of the identities that you hold as you move about the world.

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.

I highly prioritize the equal value of all people, which means no one is more important or more valuable than anyone else. However, when experience has influenced your sense of self, you may struggle to live out that sense of worth. Therapy with me intentionally makes space to evaluate how you see yourself vs how you want to, so we can navigate a path forward together.

In my philosophical counseling practice, I rely heavily on feminist wisdom about the problematic social expectations and gendered "scripts" placed upon women that reduce our personhood, freedom, and ability to pursue our own authentic lives. Together with my clients, I work to dismantle the assumption that these cultural scripts are somehow "the way of nature," shed light on the inequities that they create, and free up our thinking for new self-perceptions and aspirations.

Working from a liberation, mutual aid, and restorative justice frame.

Feminist therapy focuses on the challenges that women face as a result of bias, stereotyping, oppression and discrimination and the detrimental impact these forces have on a woman's sense of self-worth, confidence in how she navigates the world, and overall mental wellbeing. I have spent a great deal of time, professionally and personally, unpacking these concepts and unlearning the harmful and untrue messages we internalize as women in the world. I want to help other women to do the same.

My approach with feminist theory is primarily focused on understanding how the client's identities influence their experience in the world as well as within the therapeutic space.

I identify strongly as a feminist therapist, and I believe that gender roles influence socialization; ultimately, our lives. I have an undergraduate degree in Women Studies and believe that gender identity development may impact a variety of issues that female-identified clients experience, like interpersonal relationships, career, aging, sexuality.