THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY

OF MEN
The 37th Annual Summer Institute on
Substance Abuse
and Mental Health
Newark, Delaware
July 31 & August 1, 2008
Gary R. Brooks, PhD
THE “CRISIS” OF MASCULINITY - THE DARK
SIDE OF MASCULINITY
 Violence
 Rape and Sexual Assault
 Sexual Harassment
 Male Sexual Misconduct as Group Norm
 Substance Abuse
 High-Risk Behavior
 Absent Fathering
 Homelessness and Vagrancy
 Inadequate Partnering
CHALLENGES OF MODERN MASCULINITY

 Post-War cultural shifts & Changes in the

Workplace

 Social Movements of the 1960s

 The Women’s Movement

 THE MEN’S MOVEMENTS

 MYTHOPOETIC & SPIRITUAL MEN’S MOVEMENTS

 REACTIONARY MEN & MEN’S RIGHTS

 SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES

 PROFEMINIST MEN
 MEN’S STUDIES EPISTEMOLOGY AND
PHILOSOPHY
• ESSENTIALISM

 a) EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

 b) BRAIN WIRING

 c) MOTHER NATURE

• SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM & GENDER ROLE STRAIN

PARADIGM
 THE TRADITIONAL MALE ROLE

DAVID & BRANNON (1976)

 “NO SISSY STUFF”

 “THE STURDY OAK”

 “GIVE ‘EM HELL”

 “THE BIG WHEEL

 THE MASCULINE MYSTIQUE –
JIM O’NEIL
 Restrictive emotionality

 Health care problems

 Obsession with achievement and success

 Restricted sexual and affectionate behavior

 Socialized concerns for power, competition and control

 Homophobia
 “ELEMENTS OF THE MALE ROLE”
DOYLE
 Anti-feminine element

 Success element

 Aggressive element

 Sexual element

 Self-reliant element
 MAJOR THEMES IN MEN’S LIVES-
BROOKS
 Men and Their Work

 Violence

 Men with Women

 Men With Men

 Men and Fathering

 Men and Their Health

 CONFORMITY TO MALE NORMS
INVENTORY - MAHALIK
 Winning  Playboy

 Emotional control  Self-Reliance

 Risk-taking  Primacy of work

 Violence  Disdain for homosexuality

 Power over women  Pursuit of Status

 Dominance
.
 MALE ROLE NORMS INVENTORY -
LEVANT
 Avoidance of  Dominance
femininity
 Non-Relational
 Fear and hatred of Sexuality
homosexuality
 Restrictive
 Extreme self-reliance Emotionality

 Aggression
 GENDER ROLE STRAIN –
IMPACT ON MEN’S LIVES

 CORRUPTED BOYHOOD
 MEN’S HEALTH
 WORK
 FATHERHOOD
 REALTIONSHIPS WITH WOMEN
 MALE FRIENDSHIPS & HOMOPHOBIA
 BOYS TO MEN -
TRAUMATIC PROCESSES IN MALE SOCIALIZATION

 Masculinity "rites of passage" (Gilmore, 1990)

 Developmental research re male role latitude

 “Loss of the relational” (Real, 1997)

 “Normative Alexithymia” (Levant, 2005)

 Male “emotional funnel system” (Long, 1987)

 Male “empathy deficits” (Lisak, 2005)

 WHY TRADITIONAL MEN HATE
COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

 Stereotypes of Psychotherapy

 Social Construction of Masculinity

 Political Power and Triangulations

 The Way Therapists have Treated Men

 MALE SOCIALIZATION AND
PSYCHOTHERAPY
“REAL MEN” -
 HIDE PRIVATE EXPERIENCE
 MAINTAIN CONTROL
 EXHIBIT EMOTIONAL
STOICISM
 PRESENT SELF AS INVINCIBLE
 TAKE ACTION
 AVOID RELATIONSHIP
CONFLICT
 KNOW WHAT TO DO
 SEXUALIZE INTIMACY
“IDEAL” THERAPY CLIENTS -
 SELF-DISCLOSE
 RELINQUISH CONTROL
 EXPRESS FEELINGS
 EXPERIENCE VULNERABILITY
 INTROSPECT
 CONFRONT RELATIONSHIP
ISSUES
 ADMIT IGNORANCE AND
FAILURE
 MANAGE NON-SEXUAL
INTIMACY
 MALE-FRIENDLY PSYCHOTHERAPY

 INFORMED BY IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF MEN’S LIVES

 ATTUNED TO POWER AND POLITICAL ISSUES
 BROAD IN INTERVENTION MODALITIES
 POSITIVE AND ENHANCING
 TRANSTHEORETICAL
 SENSITIVE TO DIVERSITIES AMONG MEN
 DEMANDING OF THERAPIST SELF-AWARENESS
 BROADENING PARADIGMS FOR
THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS
WITH MEN & BOYS

 INTERVENTIONS OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

 INTERVENTIONS FOR MALES “ON THE THRESHOLD”

 INTERVENTIONS FOR MALES INSIDE THE OFFICE

 OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

 PRIMARY PREVENTION FOR BOYS & MALE

ADOLESCENTS

 VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS

 PORNOGRAPHY, HEALTHY SEXUALITY, AND SEXUAL
VIOLENCE AWARENESS
 COMPETENCE & RESILIENCE
 OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

 PRIMARY PREVENTION FOR MEN

 MEN’S MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES

 PSYCHOEDUCATION & PUBLIC AWARENESS

 SITE-SPECIFIC CONSULTATIVE INTERVENTIONS

 HEALTH CARE SETTINGS

 BUSINESS & INDUSTRY

 SPORTS & ATHLETIC SETTINGS

 CHURCHES & RELIGIOUS SETTINGS

 MILITARY & VA SETTINGS

 REHABILITATION SETTINGS

 PRISONS AND FORENSIC SETINGS

 MEN ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE
THERAPY OFFICE
 MALE-SPECIFIC DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
 MASCULINITY INVENTORIES

 “MANHOOD” INTERVIEW

 MOTIVATIONAL ASSESSMENT
 “STAGE OF CHANGE” ISSUES

 SOCIAL CONTEXT ANALYSIS

 MOTIVATION MATRIX
DEVELOPING THE THERAPEUTIC ALLIANCE

 THERAPEUTIC ALLIANCE (BORDIN, 1994)

 AGREEMENT ON GOALS

 AGREEMENT ON TASKS

 THERPEUTIC BOND & EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

 EMPIRICALLY-VALIDATED TREATMENTS VERSUS THE

THERAPEUTIC ALLIANCE

 THE M.A.S.T.E.R.Y MODEL

 THE M.A.S.T.E.R.Y MODEL

 “M” – Monitor Personal Reactions to Troubled Men

 “A” - Assume Men are in Pain
 “S” - See Men’s Problems in Gender Context
 “T” – Transmit Empathy and Compassion
 “E” – Empower Men to Change
 “R&Y” - Respect Men’s Readiness to Change and
Yield Somewhat to System Pressures
 WITHIN THE THERAPY OFFICE
PSYCHODYNAMIC & OBJECT RELATIONS
APPROACHES

 DEVELOMENTAL TRAUMA AND CUT-OFF OF

EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES
 TRAUMATIC ABROGATION OF THE HOLDING
ENVIRONMENT (POLLACK)
 PROBLEMATIC MASCULINE-SPECIFIC SELF-
STRUCTURES (Rabinowitz & Cochran)
 RE-CREATION OF DISRUPTED ‘HOLDING
ENVIRONMENT”
 FOCUS ON ISSUES OF LOSS AND GRIEF
 RESPECT NEED FOR ‘DEFENSIVE AUTONOMY”
 WITHIN THE THERAPY OFFICE
COGNITIVE THERAPY (Mahalik, 2005)

 SPECIAL ADVANTAGES FOR MEN

 NOT ABOUT “FEELINGS’
 NON-BLAMING

 RAPID EFFECTS

 CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING RE GENDER

MANDATES
 PROCESS –
 ADDRESS UNREALISTIC MASCULINITY SCHEMAS

 POINT OUT DESTRUCTIVE SELF-TALK

 WITHIN THE THERAPY OFFICE
BEHAVIOR THERAPY

 ADVANTAGES
 TASK-FOCUSED

 INSTRUMENTAL

 MINIMAL DEMANDS FOR EMOTIONAL INSIGHT AND

EXPRESSION
 FACE VALIDITY

 VARIANTS
 ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING

 ANGER MANAGEMENT TRAINING

 EMOTIONAL SKILLS TRAINING

 SELF CONTROL
 WITHIN THE THERAPY OFFICE -
INTERPERSONAL THERAPY

 ADVANTAGES
 SHORT-TERM
 PROBLEM-FOCUSED
 ADRESSES RELATIONAL SHORTCOMINGS
 BROADENS RELATIONAL REPERTOIRE
 WITHIN THE THERAPY OFFICE -
HUMANISTIC, EXPERIENTIAL, EXISTENTIAL
PSYCHOTHERAPY
 CORRECT EXAGGERATED SENSE OF “CONDITIONAL
WORTH” (KILMARTIN, 2007)
 “DEEPENING” PSYCHOTEHRAPY THROUGH BODY-WORK
AND GESTALT EXPERIETIAL EXERCISES (Rabinowitz &
Cochran, 2002)
 RECOGNITION OF MORTALITY AND IMPLICATIONS OF
MALE ROLE CHOICES
 WITHIN THE THERAPY OFFICE –
INTERVENTIONS FOR BOYS AND MALE
ADOLESCENTS (KISELICA & ENGLAR-CARLSON, & HORNE, 2008)
 DELIVERY OF SERVICES IN INFORMAL SETTINGS
 CREATE A “WELCOMING SPACE”
 FLEXIBILITY AND ADPATABILITY RE TIMES AND
APPOINMENTS
 HUMOR AND FUN
 APPROPRIATE SELF-DISCLOSURE
 ALL-MALE GROUPS
 THE ALL-MALE THERAPY GROUP

 Men's Groups as Familiar Terrain – Confronting the Male

chorus
 Countering Men's Emotional Isolation from Other Men
(“Altruism”)
 Decentralizing Women in Men’s Lives
 Enhancing Communication Skills
 Discovering Emotional Interconnections (“universality”)
 Instilling Hope and Initiating Mutual Empowerment
 TRADITIONAL MEN AND MARRIAGE
(HISTORICAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, POLITICAL, AND GENDER SOCIALIZATION
PERSPECTIVES ON MEN’S RELATIONSHIPS WITH WOMEN )

 Male Early Development- Psychoanalytic Perspectives

 Restrictive Early Socialization and Hypermasculinity
 Adolescence and Sexuality
 Misogyny in Patriarchal Culture
 The Institution of Marriage
 Men's Traditional Expectations of Marriage
 The “Civilizing” Value of Marriage
 Marital Services
 Career and Symbolic Benefits
 Emotional Benefits
 Physical Benefits
 GENDER-SENSITIVE FAMILY THERAPY
FOR MALES (BROOKS, 1992, 1998)
 Concerted efforts to include a reluctant male family member
 Help for males to articulate their perspectives
 Overcome preoccupation with career goals and neglect of relational
goals for males
 Encouraging males to recognize vulnerabilities and prioritize self-care
 Empowering male family members in nurturing and caretaking
 Promoting connection and emotional intimacy among male family
members
 Encouraging role latitude for sons
 Promoting new fatherhood roles
 Conducting family of origin work to explore masculine family heritage.
 DIVERSITY AMONG MEN -
COMMON ISSUES FOR MEN OF COLOR
 IMPACT OF RACISM AND OPPRESSION
 UNEMPLOYMENT
 LIFE EXPECTANCY
 INCARCERATION
 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

 DISTRUST OF MENTAL HEALTH ESTABLISHMENT (“HEALTHY PARANOIA”)

 UNDERUTILIZATION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

 RACIAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITY ISSUES

 ETHNOCENTRIC MONOCULTURALISM
 MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE
(SUE & SUE, 2008)

 AWARENESS

 KNOWLEDGE

 SKILLS
 THERAPEUTIC “SKILL” ISSUES

 LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

 HUMOR & TEASING
 MALE FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT
 SELF-DISCLOSURE & ADVICE GIVING
 MOTIVATIONAL ENHANCMENT
 COPING WITH DEFENSIVENESS
 USING TRIANGULATION
 UTILIZATION OF THERAPIST GENDER