Social, Cultural, And Political Context

In this avenue I would work to base my practices and approaches on the needs and strengths of the clients. I would encourage them to practice good coping mechanisms and self talk. The goal of our session would be for them to leave with a new perspective and some tools to deal with the moments of disarray. Lastly, I would hope to help treat mental dysfunctional and disorders.

Ballou (1996) in Ivey (2002) comments on other concepts of feminist therapy. An understanding of pluralism is one. That is, the value of difference. Although focused

With the revival of the feminist movement in the 1960 's many women started to renounce traditional theories of psychotherapy, arguing that these theories were sexist, oppressive, and ultimately detrimental to the psychological and emotional well-being of women. Feminist advocates highlighted the limiting nature of socialized gender roles and the damaging effects of the various levels of oppression experienced by women. In response to the recognition of these perceived injustices, feminist support groups formed and eventually a feminist approach to therapy was collaboratively developed. Feminist therapists practice with an awareness of how gender socialization and systemic

Armed with this new awareness, the therapeutic process from a feminist perspective was reconceptualized to include an emphasis on social and political forces and an acknowledgement of their role in disempowerment for women (Brown, 2010). Additionally, the seed of creating a more respectful and humanistic approach to the counselling relationship was planted. Raising the consciousness of clients around power and focusing on societal transformation rather than individual adjustment became the identify of feminist therapy and to what Lerner (1993) referred to as the ‘feminist consciousness’. This perspective afforded practitioners a new way to view “problems” presented in therapy.

As I was speaking with one of their staff, I disclosed myself to be doing a paper on my visit. The lady gave me a history and the mission of their program. She talked about the fact that their counseling is open to almost everyone; but, mostly women come to their facility. The misconception that their services are only for women is common and since their clients are mostly women, they have facilitated their workshops towards satisfying the needs of their clients. At first, they provided care primarily to women and now they have expanded their service towards men.

This has provided me with an added insight into what interventions may be beneficial when working with clients. My aptitude for ¨thinking outside the box¨ has facilitated effective problem solving in situations that had no single or clear-cut solution. I hope to enhance this attribute during my time in field placement by refining my critical thinking skills and increasing my knowledge of community resources, so that I can gain a strengthened awareness of how to best advocate for and support clients. My ability to integrate personal goals, values, culture and socioeconomic background into treatment planning and in the treatment process has allowed me to develop realistic and attainable goals that are relevant to each individual. This strength stems from the steadfast belief that cultural relevance is essential to provide effective services. My social work experience has refined my organization and planning skills and I have fine-tuned my ability to manage a chaotic schedule. When I have encountered challenges in the field, I have overcome them by seeking supervision and consulting with more experienced colleagues. I also dedicate extra time to learning about cultures, concepts, and practices that I may have a difficult time understanding or am not familiar with. A final strength I believe will be an asset when working as a professional social worker is my dedication to the social work mission and

Battered Woman Syndrome has been recognized as a subcategory of post-traumatic stress disorder (Walker, 2009). All women who have been battered do not meet all of the criteria in the DSM-V for post-traumatic stress disorder but many of them do (Walker, 2009). It is also important to note that women who suffer from Battered Woman Syndrome may suffer from other mental health conditions. Treatment should be tailored to fit the unique needs of the battered woman. However, according to Walker (2009) treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and Battered Woman Syndrome may include a combination of feminist and trauma therapy. Feminist therapy helps the victim understand the situational factors that are out of her control which may motivate her to accept and change the factors that she can control (Walker, 2009).

In order to see the broader social context we must need to understand first what social context actually is?

Feminist Therapy is a type of therapy that integrates a psychotherapy approach. Feminist Therapy focuses on empowering women and helping them break stereotypes that may otherwise hold them back from growth and development (Feminist Therapy, n.d.). An example of a stereotype that suppresses women’s growth is the stereotype that women are meant to stay home and raise the children as well as cook and clean for her husband who goes to work to provide for the family. This stereotype can lead women to believe that they shouldn’t go to college to continue their education so they can have a career, because they are supposed to be stay at home moms and house wives.

Feminist theory aims to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality. Feminist political activism campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, discrimination and sexual violence. Themes explored in feminism include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification, sexual objectification, oppression and

The central focus of feminist counselling is gender, therapists must understand and be sensitive to how psychological oppression and socialization influence identity development.

Feminism by definition means the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. But many a time’s people restrict the boundary of these forgetting the very important element of diversity of women living in different places and in varied situations.

Feminist perspective developed with the ideology that women face large amounts of inequalities in a patriarchal society. They aimed to address and rid the social world of this oppression of women by men. According to Bishop, (2015) “oppression occurs when one group of people use different forms of power to keep another group down in order to exploit them. The oppressor uses the power; the oppressed are exploited” (p. 133-134). Oppression must be by individual experience and not grouped into being the same for all. This includes understanding the original ideology of feminist theory being critiqued as only considering the experiences of middle class, white women. That black women, of lower class experienced oppression much different from the other women. Women are oppressed, thus has to be understood in a different construct that women are similar in some sources, experience of oppression but also experience oppression very differently from one individual to another. Feminist theories have further been expanded do its continuation throughout society and decades to encompass many more issues and arenas than just men and women relationships. Now it seeks to understand and address oppression based on culture, race, class, etc and not only for women but for all. Therefore, Bishop (2014) outlines five components that seem common to all forms of oppression and serve to maintain its presence in society.

Sociocultural perspective is mainly about how different people are from one another. This theory is used to determine what might trigger or influence someone's behavior or mental stage, such as their surroundings, gender, culture, or even ethnicity. A person's surroundings is a major part of their behavior or actions because this could help a psychologist understand why they think something is normal, or where they picked up some of the habits they may have. For example, someone from a more individual or smaller society will have a more independent of others as well as themselves. Society is also put into the socio-cultural perspective because children tend to lean towards what everyone else does so they could feel pressured to do things just to fit into a group.

Humans are unique creatures simply due to the fact that every person grows up in a different environment. I know for a fact that the way I grew up is different compared to the way my friends grew up, and it is different compared to how others grew up and will grow up in the past and future. This paper covers the subject of sociocultural context, what it is, how it can impact a child, and how it impacted my own development.