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The subject of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) against men has been one of controversy, with well-rehearsed arguments surrounding both the nature and existence of female-perpetrated abuse against men. The aims of this study were to explore men's help-seeking experiences and/or their perceptions of utilising support services/ support networks following IPV victimisation. Consequently, this study explored the help-seeking experiences of 26, largely British, men who self-identified as having experienced female-perpetrated IPV. As the focus was on subjective experiences, a qualitative design was employed. Participation was invited from men who had sought help for their IPV victimisation from a range of sources and those who had not sought help at all. Semi-structured interviews explored the men's experiences of seeking help, and barriers to seeking help, following IPV. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Some of the participants who took part in this study had received formal support for their experiences of IPV (i.e. counselling, calling IPV helplines and support services, contact with social workers or the police) and informal support (e.g. speaking to work colleagues, family and friends). Five participants had never spoken to anybody about their experiences prior to taking part in the interview. A range of barriers prevented the men from seeking help. First and foremost, the importance of maintaining a sense of masculinity consistently underpinned the participants' narratives. The men's fear of being judged negatively by others was often not unfounded. Negative help-seeking experiences included being treated with suspicion and contempt. Positive help-seeking experiences facilitated the men in recognising their relationship as abusive, which for some of the men was influential in their decision to leave or seek help. The lack of recognition and understanding of male IPV within society was of concern to most of the men. Some expressed a desire to use their own experiences in order to help other men in abusive relationships. These results have important implications for the development of appropriate support for male victims, including the need for practitioners to be nonjudgemental whilst assisting men in recognising their relationship as abusive.

Aim: To provide an understanding of counsellors' experiences of working with male victims of female-perpetrated domestic abuse. This topic has been virtually unexplored within counselling literature. Method: A qualitative design was adopted to address the objective of this research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six counsellors. Snowball sampling was used to identify suitable participants. Three were males and three females, and all had experience of working with male victims of female-perpetrated domestic abuse. Results were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Findings: Ten over-arching themes emerged from the transcripts, including a distinct lack of recognition of male victimisation, which was seen as hampering counsellors' work with clients. Participants, particularly female counsellors, also drew on the significance of their gender. Furthermore, counsellors described changes in their perceptions of women within modern society. A central feature of participants' accounts was a sense of privilege in sharing clients' experiences. However, participants described the work as challenging, and employed both personal and professional strategies to help them cope with work-related difficulties. Discussion: Findings offer an initial understanding as to the experiences of counsellors that have worked with male victims. This may be helpful in leading to the development of more effective strategies employed by counsellors and counselling agencies in successfully working with male victims, whilst increasing awareness of male victimisation.

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