ABSTRACT
Perhaps it is because of its paternal lineage, or perhaps it is because too few are exposed to its philosophy — whichever the case, existential therapy is rarely connected with feminist analyses of gender, power, and sexuality. is is unfortunate. As the case studies to follow attest, feminist understanding of women’s (and men’s) conicts with gender, power, and sexuality is intimately connected with existential themes. Among these themes are not only freedom, limitation, constriction, expansion, anxiety, and responsibility, but also, and equally important, courage, presence, and encounter. In the rst study Laura Brown anatomizes the power (which is intimately connected to freedom) that underlies meaning making. In her therapeutic work with “Emma,” Dr. Brown provides essential conditions for empowerment through presence, an egalitarian relationship, and modeling. From there, she helps Emma to embody her power in relationships, from her relationship with Dr. Brown, to her relationship with lovers, leaders, and society. Although there are stumbles along the way, Dr. Brown helps Emma to realize her core priorities, which include her identication as a lesbian woman, her search for a substantive partnership, and her pursuit (in spite of her Christian upbringing) of a Jewish spirituality.
