Gender matters. Der Faktor Geschlecht und seine Bedeutung für Theorie und Praxis der personzentrierten Psychotherapie

Abstract

Gender matters: The gender factor and its significance for person-centered psychotherapy theory and practice. The person becomes visible in different social contexts spanning the respective gender group, social origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, age, and ethnicity. These seemingly natural characteristics are socially linked to expectations, requirements, assignments, and behavioral practices that often prevent people from adequately expressing their own authentic experiences. Experiences of discrimination, social disadvantage and exclusion based on these criteria cause states of suffering that become visible in our practices. Psychotherapists – especially in the person-centered approach – therefore have a responsibility to reflect
on social structures and to consider them in their theoretical and practical work. The person-centered approach is a cultural philosophy and, as such, is called upon to examine and critically question the cultural expression of human beings. A gender-sensitive attitude should not only refer to the client’s world of experience, but should also include and constantly reflect on the therapeutic interaction and our profession itself as well as our actions as therapists socialized as female or male.