Putting politics into practice: Feminist therapy as feminist praxis

A distinctive feature of feminist therapy is its insistence on bringing power into discussions of therapy and mental health. Using the framework of discourse analysis, we ask how feminist therapists talk about power. What linguistic resources do they employ to construct accounts of power in therapy? Drawing on interviews with three experienced feminist therapists, we trace how their language practices highlight some dimensions of power and conceal others. The diversity in these interviews points to the heterogeneity of feminist therapies. Although some feminist therapists are now calling for standardization, we argue that the field will be better served if diverse ideas and discourses are brought into abrasive interaction.