Contact: Ryann Hartung(909) 335-4070[email protected]
Ref. # 02-25Oct. 10, 2001
DEEPENING PSYCHOTHERAPY: TALKING ABOUT MEN
Ron, a middle-aged construction worker, is suffering not only from of the loss of his job and the death of his son, but also from increased problems with his wife, who has asked him to go to therapy or face her leaving.
Alex is a well-to-do businessman in his early 30's who has come to therapy to resolve issues preventing him from succeeding in relationships and putting him into an emotional rut that he cannot understand.
These two cases are typical ones for therapists in some respects, except that the clients are men -- who make up only about 25 percent of most clinicians' practices. And, like most men, it took severe internal pain and external pressure to bring them there, an environment outside of their comfort zone.
"Deepening Psychotherapy with Men" (American Psychological Association, 2002) should prove to be an important asset to the field of male psychotherapy. The book is co-authored by Fredric Rabinowitz, professor of psychology at the University of Redlands, and Sam Cochran, director of counseling services at the University of Iowa. It is their third collaborative effort and follows their work "Men and Depression: Clinical and Empirical Perspectives" (Academic Press 2000).
"Deepening" tackles the problems therapists encounter when counseling men, attempting to rectify these difficulties through a number of different approaches, including chapters on foundations for male psychotherapy, understanding what brings men to therapy, and deepening psychotherapy with men's groups.
The main feature of the book, though, rests on its use of the dialogues taken from two men, Ron and Alex, who went through psychotherapy with the authors. Their unique and often contrasting experiences, thoughts and actions are laid out in a coherent manner that the authors then further break down, allowing them to guide the reader in analyzing what took place and understanding the strategies used and problems encountered.
"Men don't usually talk about relationships. They often engage in an activity that doesn't involve talking about (them)selves. In therapy, everything slows down -- it allows them to have the emotional reaction they wouldn't normally allow themselves to have," Rabinowitz said.
The authors met in graduate school, where their interest in men's studies, a relatively under-developed field, first began. Rabinowitz attributes the resource shortages in his field to the perception of men as "being in power and having the most choices" and also due to their fear of showing vulnerability.
The problems Ron and Alex reveal about themselves and the steps that take them through therapy are, in many aspects, shocking, but also carry with them an odd and very compelling familiarity with the male experience. Even though the target audiences of the book are counselors, therapists and psychologists, the stories presented are ones that should be of interest to all men and women and should help us, in Rabinowitz' words, "expand our understanding of who men are."
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