It's not just personal: Exploring the therapist's political role in confronting misogyny
Year: 2025
Type: editorial
Abstract: This commentary examines the political responsibility of person-centred therapists in addressing misogyny within therapeutic spaces. Despite the absence of a unified recommendation for confronting social justice issues, therapists are urged to reflect on their role in this area. By considering the reasons young men and boys join manosphere communities, the commentary situates digital radicalisation within an attachment-informed psychotherapy framework. Misogyny is reframed as a fear of care and relational vulnerability, rooted in intergenerational trauma and disrupted attachment. Therapy, as a secure relational space, offers opportunities to explore these root causes. Within such attuned relationships, therapists can act as both secure base and challenger, resembling the function of a secure attachment figure. Gendered socialisation has led to a predominance of female therapists, a dynamic that must be acknowledged when working with clients who hold misogynistic beliefs. The commentary proposes that challenge is a collective therapeutic responsibility and suggests borrowing from other psychological models to engage in therapeutic activism: reflecting on personal gender biases, inquiring into the origins of oppressive beliefs, educating clients on feminism and systemic oppression, and explicitly naming harmful views. Ultimately, therapists are called to embody relational activism, fostering safety, accountability, and reflective capacity.
Source: Feminism & Psychology
Author: Fae Wolfe
Institution: University of Manchester
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
OpenAlex ID: W4417469531