An article in the NY Times by Benedict Carey reviews the current situation in psychotherapy which has become a predominantly female profession and the problems some males have in going into therapy with a woman. The article can be accessed here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/health/22therapists.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2&pagewanted=all
The issues are not new but I had been unaware of the pattern of male avoidance of psychotherapy if a female therapist was involved. Quoting the article: |The result, many therapists argue, is that the profession is at risk |of losing its appeal for a large group of sufferers — most of them |men — who would like to receive therapy but prefer to start with |a male therapist. | |“There’s a way in which a guy grows up that he knows some |things that women don’t know, and vice versa,” said David Moultrup, |a psychotherapist in Belmont, Mass. “But that male viewpoint has been |so devalued in the course of empowering little girls for the past 40 or |50 years that it is now all but lost in talk therapy. Society needs to |have the choice, and the choice is being taken away.” The article makes the point that research shows that a good therapist is a good therapist regardless of gender but the problem is that one has to be in therapy to find this out. Quoting again from the article: |Still, perception is all important when it comes to seeking help for |the very first time. In a recent study among 266 college men, Ronald F. |Levant, a psychologist at the University of Akron, found that a man’s |willingness to seek therapy was directly related to how strongly he |agreed with traditionally male assumptions, like “I can usually handle |whatever comes my way.” Such a man on the fence about seeking |treatment could be discouraged by the prospect of talking to a woman. There does appear to be a silver lining here. Quoting the article: |“I remember when I started training, I looked around and realized |that for the first time in my life, I was an endangered minority,” said |Ryan McKelley, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, |La Crosse. “Now I tell my male students, if you’re interested in clinical |care, you can write your own ticket. You’ll be hired immediately.” I wonder if it really is that easy/simple. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=10692 or send a blank email to leave-10692-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
