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Therapy informed by feminist theory is shaped and enacted from the perspective of the clinician rather than by a set of specific techniques that are applied (Brown, 2018). Feminist therapists firmly believe that gender role socialization is a primary force that negatively affects the healthy development of women. Feminist therapists recognize that a client’s truth is undeniably the client’s “truth.” Feminist therapists also recognize that it is the patriarchal culture and its unjust practices that give rise to the issues that bring clients into their offices. For instance, Israeli and Santor (2000) noted that a woman’s depressed mood may be a very normal reaction to a world in which patriarchy favors men in such a way that women feel helpless and hopeless and doubt their self-worth. Thus, feminist-oriented therapists recognized the need for a theory that creates a therapeutic environment in which the client can be empowered and actively participate in their own care. The basic definition of feminist therapy embraces this idea. Laura S. Brown (1994, pp. 21–22) defined feminist therapy in the following way:

The practice of therapy informed by feminist political philosophies and analysis, grounded in multicultural feminist scholarship on the psychology of women and gender, which leads both therapist and client toward strategies and solutions advancing feminist resistance, transformation and social change in daily personal life, and in relationships with the social, emotional and political environments.

This specific definition was developed approximately a quarter of a century ago, but the heart of the definition is still relevant for clients today. While third-wave feminism has broadened the construct by including specific focus on inclusion and intersectionality, the basic belief that “the personal is political” is still very much at the core of feminist philosophy. This underscores the belief that what are traditionally considered to be “women’s issues” are broader and more culturally embedded and external than they may first appear. In fact, feminist theory has often been used with marginalized groups and minority groups in addition to women due to the collaborative nature of the theory.

Feminist counseling theory has been developed to more fully invite the collaboration and expertness of clients into the counseling process (Worell & Remer, 2003). Lenore E. A. Walker (1990) described feminist therapy as being supported by six basic tenets; over time, these tenets have been fleshed out and expanded by additional feminist writers (Corey, 2015). Following is a synopsis of the current status of these six beliefs:

1 The personal is political, and those things that happen “out there” in society that limit women’s opportunities, well-being, or survival are also happening “in her(e)” as well. A woman’s individual experience is a glimpse into the experiences of all women facing the same monolithic cultural obstacle.

2 Social action is necessary to promote social change, which is seen as the surest route to ensuring that women’s lives also change. Feminist therapists move beyond their offices to engage in advocacy for their clients in order to enhance the climate of their communities and the globe. Therapists facilitate their clients’ understandings of the privileges that they may possess and the oppressions they may experience. Without awareness and advocacy, change cannot be realized.

3 The voices of the marginalized and the oppressed are valued and the ways of “knowing” that are different from the standard, androcentric scientific method are also valued and heard. The experiences of all people are to be honored rather than viewed as deviant or suspect. A person’s truth is her truth.

4 Relationships between therapists and clients must be egalitarian. This relationship serves as a model in which women take personal responsibility and exhibit assertiveness in getting their needs met. There exists authenticity, mutuality, and respect between counselor and client. When clients present for care, an inherent power difference exists between the helpee and the helper. Feminist practitioners acknowledge the power differential, explore it with the client, and seek ways to minimize it.

5 Feminist therapy eschews the medical model of diagnosis and treatment as feminist practitioners believe that women’s problems are described as coping mechanisms that are activated by a society that can be inhospitable to women. Thus, the understanding of psychological distress is shifted, and those symptoms that might be seen as “disruptive problems” in one lens may be viewed as “survival mechanisms” through the feminist lens.

6 Regardless of their basis, oppression of any type is acknowledged and recognized and the connections and interrelationships between them are explored and addressed in therapy.