Feminist Therapy: Healing Anxiety and Burnout Beyond Pathologizing
Written by Maggie Dickens, LPC-S | Online Anxiety Therapy for High-Achieving Women in Texas and Florida | Cathartic Counseling | (Approximately 4 minute read)
When Your Response is Labeled a “Flaw”
Have you ever left a therapy session feeling slightly… handled? You describe the overwhelming pressure of perfectionism, the exhaustion of people-pleasing, or the justified rage at inequality, only to feel that your anger is being labeled “too much,” your sadness as “depression,” or your constant anxiety as a “personal flaw.” This is the failure of the old therapeutic model.
I’m not a good employee of big systems with bottom lines tied to CEO profits, and I’ve never been a “blank slate” therapist. Even way back when I was in training (way back when Obama was President (aka the good ‘ole days, IMR?!)), I always let people know they weren’t alone in their frustrations with real-life stuff. For example, it is not an anxiety disorder to be freaking out about whether your insurance premiums will double due to the latest MAGA legislation. That is reality. So, we aren’t going to simply breathe and pretend things aren’t a dumpster fire.
Instead, we acknowledge that your reaction is a logical response to systemic stress. You’re not broken; the system is. We are committed to decolonizing therapy by moving beyond The Psychiatric Pathologizing Lens that labels normal emotional responses as “disorders.”
What is Feminist Therapy?
Feminist Therapy is a postmodern approach that recognizes that an individual’s struggles are often rooted in systemic and socio-political factors (like sexism, patriarchy, racism, classism), rather than solely individual dysfunction. The focus is on client empowerment and dismantling internalized oppression, helping you heal from the outside in.
Moving Beyond the Patriarchal Lens in Therapy
- Traditional Therapy asks: “What’s wrong with you?”
- Feminist Therapy asks: “What has happened to you?”
Traditional approaches often pathologize feelings like anger at injustice or anxiety about financial instability, reducing them to individual deficits. Feminist therapy, conversely, validates your emotional landscape as a map of the systems you are navigating.
How Feminist Therapy Heals the High-Achieving Woman
For the woman who grew up too fast, who is always “on”, and who feels unseen, the feminist approach is incredibly liberating.
- Anxiety as Systemic Response, Not Personal Flaw: We connect your high-achieving anxiety to the pressure of perfectionism, the exhaustion of Eldest Daughter Syndrome, and the systemic requirement to perform 100% just to gain 50% recognition in a world that is frankly set up for women to fail no matter what.
- Empowerment, Not Just Adjustment: The goal is not to adjust to an unhealthy system by simply “coping,” but to identify and safely set guilt-free boundaries to create a healthy personal system. If the system is set up for you to fail, then why not “fail” in a way that truly makes you happy? [Internal Link to People-Pleasing/EDS Content]
- Healing the Scarcity Mindset: The pervasive feeling of never having “enough” (rest, time, achievement) is connected to the capitalist/patriarchal pressure to constantly produce. Feminist therapy helps you redefine your worth outside of your output.
Feminist Therapy & Advanced Modalities
Feminist therapy provides the context for your suffering, while advanced modalities provide the tools for your change.
As a systems-based therapist, I recognize that you can understand the patriarchy intellectually, but still feel anxious in your body. This is why feminist therapy pairs perfectly with modalities like Parts Work (like IFS) and Clinical Hypnosis.
These tools work at the nervous system level, giving you the internal power to create the external change that feminist theory calls for. We help your inner child feel safe enough to trust your adult self’s capacity for boundary setting and empowerment.
- Read our full post on the exhaustion of Eldest Daughter Syndrome.
- Learn how our services address chronic people-pleasing and boundary setting.
- Explore all our specialized online anxiety therapy services.
You Are Not The Problem
Your emotional response is logical. The solution is empowerment. You are not simply going to breathe and be fine that things are a dumpster fire; instead, we will acknowledge what is happening and still work on your shit because you matter too.
Feminist therapy gives you the validation and the framework to move past the shame of “pathology” into the confidence of systemic awareness.
FAQ Section
A: No. While it originated from addressing women’s issues, feminist therapy benefits anyone impacted by systemic oppression, including men, non-binary individuals, and people dealing with issues of race, class, and power dynamics. Check out the American Psychological Association’s “Feminist Therapy—Not for Cisgender Women Only” for more.
A: No. While both offer support, feminist therapy differs by explicitly examining power dynamics, societal roles, and systemic factors as a core part of the client’s problem, rather than solely focusing on internal thoughts or behaviors.
Ready to stop feeling handled and start feeling empowered? Book a Consultation for Online Anxiety Therapy in Texas or Florida
