ON POST-STRUCTURALİST THERAPY AND DE-LİMİTİNG GENDER FROM BİNARY

Authors : Filiz CELİK

Pages : 38-59

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Publication Date : 2018-11-03

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Gender non-binary, gender variant or gender plural are the terms used to accommodate the population that associate their gender identity outside the male and female binaries of gender dichotomy. Current psychotherapy practices are evolving to accommodate non-traditional, non-determinist and non-oppressive new terminologies to work with a gender pluralistic worldview. The ontological and epistemological shift from positivist approach to therapeutic issues to post-structuralist shift brought language afore as the site of power and meaning. Family and systemic psychotherapy is a particular cohort in the world of psychotherapy that operates with a social constructivist, deconstructive and post-structuralist epistemology. Distanced from pre-determined notions of pathology and well-being family and systemic psychotherapists work with power and knowledge using the language as site that power and knowledge is both used and produced to introduce systemic changes. A cisgender therapist adopting a post-structuralist position can access local realities of the individuals and families yet remain too focused on gender variance/pluralism and may lose their holistic approach. It is recommended that a post-structuralist therapist working with gender issues adopts an integrative approach as sees gender issues not central but integral to systems to create systemic changes. 
Keywords : psychotherapy, post structuralism, gender non binary, gender variant, gender plural, minority stress, family and systemic psychotherapy, reflexivity, epistemology and ontology