Our world is organized through its influence. Feminist therapy recognizes that environmental pressures affect a woman's identity. Women live in a world dominated by males and masculine patterns of thought and behavior, or the patriarchy. Until recently, studies of human behavior were almost always conducted by and on men. Feminists argue that men and women are not the same and, indeed, have developed from early childhood in different ways.
Men tend to view the world in terms of power and competition, or in a hierarchy.
Women, on the other hand, view the world through relationship and connection to others. So most psychological theories and the therapy techniques derived from them may not fit women very well. Whether through our biological makeup or through our socialization, or both, we all grow up knowing exactly what is expected of us. We are routinely bombarded with gender-role messages from our culture and our society and from our families. The media gives young children strong gender-biased messages.