From Book News, Inc.
Examines the effects of gender role conditioning on men's lives, and offers suggestions for therapists to help men change so that their lives are less dominated by the dysfunctional effects of such conditioning. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Review
"...Meth, Pasick and their group deserve all the more praise for their balanced solidity, practical advice for therapists and adherence to a systemic view of the issues. They have thought about the specific issues therapists face when working with men, they have tried interventions and they have collected their experiences. The reader can sense the conversations the authors had with each other....The reader will find practical guidance and encouraging suggestions regarding the treatment of men....Here is an outstanding beginning that bodes well for future work on overcoming our socially constructed and deeply embedded gender blindness in therapy." --Child and Family Behavior Therapy

"Amidst the women's movement and the children's movement and the concern for the elderly, [the authors] are making a plea for the average guy--the man left behind and bewildered by society's rapid changes, and who is often blamed for a complex and restrictive system that was in place eons before he was born....The popular press, in general, makes fun of the Alan Alda/sensitive males discussions that are pervasive in so many therapeutic environments. Big boys, after all, don't cry....Now, [the authors say] big boys better learn to cry--and laugh and talk about their feelings." --The Hartford Courant

"He works hard, competes hard and takes pride in his logic, emotional detachment, and strength. He's nonplussed when his mate accuses him of being emotionally closed off and unexpressive. Recognize him? He the archtypical male--a figure increasingly beleagered by women's demands that he share more in domestic life, and by his own uneasy feeling that he might be missing something....Freeing men from narrowly defined notions of masculinity is the focus of Men in Therapy." --Ann Arbor News



Review
"...Meth, Pasick and their group deserve all the more praise for their balanced solidity, practical advice for therapists and adherence to a systemic view of the issues. They have thought about the specific issues therapists face when working with men, they have tried interventions and they have collected their experiences. The reader can sense the conversations the authors had with each other....The reader will find practical guidance and encouraging suggestions regarding the treatment of men....Here is an outstanding beginning that bodes well for future work on overcoming our socially constructed and deeply embedded gender blindness in therapy." --Child and Family Behavior Therapy

"Amidst the women's movement and the children's movement and the concern for the elderly, [the authors] are making a plea for the average guy--the man left behind and bewildered by society's rapid changes, and who is often blamed for a complex and restrictive system that was in place eons before he was born....The popular press, in general, makes fun of the Alan Alda/sensitive males discussions that are pervasive in so many therapeutic environments. Big boys, after all, don't cry....Now, [the authors say] big boys better learn to cry--and laugh and talk about their feelings." --The Hartford Courant

"He works hard, competes hard and takes pride in his logic, emotional detachment, and strength. He's nonplussed when his mate accuses him of being emotionally closed off and unexpressive. Recognize him? He the archtypical male--a figure increasingly beleagered by women's demands that he share more in domestic life, and by his own uneasy feeling that he might be missing something....Freeing men from narrowly defined notions of masculinity is the focus of Men in Therapy." --Ann Arbor News



Book Description
Men have long been considered difficult to engage in psychotherapy, often being described as resistant, unworkable, and unfeeling. The few available books that deal specifically with men's issues tend to lack a central theoretical focus, are highly psychoanalytic in content, or simply do not provide specific guidelines for working with men. This unique and timely volume fills an important gap in the literature by demonstrating why change is often so difficult for them. It provides detailed guidelines for helping men initiate and sustain change in their personal, familial, and professional lives.



About the Author
Richard L. Meth ,M.S.W. Director, Center for Marital and FamilyTherapy,School of Family Studies, University of Connecticut,Storrs CT .
Robert S. Pasick ,P.h.D Psychologist , family therapist , and consultant at the Ann Arbor Center for the Family. Conducts workshops on Gender Issues in the Workplace.



Excerpted from Men in Therapy: The Challenge of Change by Richard L. Meth, Robert S. Pasick, Barry Gordon, Jo Ann Allen, Larry B. Feldman, Sylvia Gordon. Copyright © 1991. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
I. UNDERSTANDING MEN IN U.S. SOCIETY. 1. The Road to Masculinity, Meth 2. Raised to Work, Pasick. 3. Men as Husbands, B. Gordon & Meth 4. Fathers and Fathering, Feldman 5. Friendship between Men, Pasick II. MEN AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE. 6. Creating a Framework for Change, Allen & S. Gordon 7. Helping Men Understand Themselves, Pasick, S. Gordon & Meth 8. Helping Men in Couple Relationships, B. Gordon & Allen 9. Men and Sexuality, Meth 10. Men and Mothers, Allen 11. Men and Their Fathers, B. Gordon 12. Being a Father, B. Gordon 13. Changing the Nature of Friendships between Men, B. Gordon & Pasick

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Men have long been considered difficult to engage in psychotherapy, often being described as resistant, unworkable, and unfeeling. The few available books that deal specifically with men's issues tend to lack a central theoretical focus, are highly psychoanalytic in content, or simply do not provide specific guidelines for working with men. This unique and timely volume fills an important gap in the literature by demonstrating why change is often so difficult for them. It provides detailed guidelines for helping men initiate and sustain change in their personal, familial, and professional lives.

FROM THE CRITICS

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