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Men in general, particularly white middle- and working-class men are not doing well; physically, financially, and emotionally. Accordingly, there is a resurgence of interest in the study of men and masculinity in our field as an essential aspect of multicultural competence. To this point, the psychology of men has not been well developed in our field, which limits our effectiveness in engaging men in treatment and providing effective clinical interventions for men and their intimate partners. This presentation works to develop new understandings of the psychology of men and how those new understandings can be applied to clinical work with men and their intimate partners.
https://webinars.tallirosenbaum.com/workshops/NewApproaches/viewNew Approaches to Working with Men and Couples in Psychotherapy
Previously Recorded
Presenter: Avrum G. Weiss, Ph.D.
Course Length: 1 Hour
Men in general, particularly white middle- and working-class men are not doing well; physically, financially, and emotionally. Accordingly, there is a resurgence of interest in the study of men and masculinity in our field as an essential aspect of multicultural competence. To this point, the psychology of men has not been well developed in our field, which limits our effectiveness in engaging men in treatment and providing effective clinical interventions for men and their intimate partners. This presentation works to develop new understandings of the psychology of men and how those new understandings can be applied to clinical work with men and their intimate partners.
I. Introduction (20 minutes)
A. Conceptualizing the study of men and masculinity as an essential aspect of multicultural competence
B. The challenges of working towards an empathic understanding of the internal lives of men without appearing to condone interpersonally exploitive or abusive behavior.
II. Difficulties of Engaging Men in Treatment (20 minutes)
A. Men are socialized to be emotionally self-reliant and to equate being emotional or needing help with femininity.
B. Men perceive psychotherapy, and the values expressed therein, as feminizing and, therefore, threatening
III. Importance of Engaging Men in Treatment (20 minutes)
A. Men in general, particularly white middle- and working-class men are not doing well; physically, financially, and emotionally.
B. Men and loneliness.
IV. Strategies for Engaging Men in Treatment (50 minutes)
A. Therapists educating themselves about the internal lives of men as another form of cultural competency
B. Educating men about their fears of women as an underlying cause of individual unhappiness and relationship distress (Weiss, 2021).
1. Men’s fears of being dominated and controlled by women
2. Men’s fears of being entrapped by women
3. Men’s fears of failing to protect and provide for women
' 4. Men’s fears of women’s emotions
5. Men’s fears of being inadequate
6. Men’s fears of being abandoned.
7. Men’s fears of femininity
C. Helping men to understand some of the benefits of therapy they may be unaware of
V. Treatment Strategies for Working with Men and Heterosexual Couples (50 minutes)
A. Men are taught to rely on defensiveness and stonewalling as their primary defenses in intimate relationships. Teaching men to forgo withdrawal and how to “lean in” as an alternative.
B. Women are socialized to rely on criticism and contempt as their primary defenses in intimate relationships) Teaching women to forgo criticism and learn to be interested in, and empathic towards the internal lives of their partners.
VI. Case study of a common relationship conflict reconceptualized through the lens of men’s fears of women. (20 minutes)