The Story of Manhood: Using a Narrative Approach to Facilitate Unique Constructions of Masculinity

Working with Men in Individual Psychotherapy from an Integrity Model Perspective: The Unsung Heroes

“…Mark, François, and Peter's journeys illustrate our Integrity-based work with many men in community practice and tertiary care settings, adding further support to our clinical and empirical findings of: (a) Men's immediate engagement in the therapeutic process; (b) men's deep willingness to be radically honest without defensiveness; (c) men's positive response to a wellness versus pathologizing perspective; (d) the Integrity model as a theoretical vehicle for men to articulate their values of being male and the value clashes between traditionally socially prescribed values versus their personal values of being a man of honour; (e) the connection between issues of Integrity and symptoms of distress or physiological symptoms; and (f) the fact that therapy is often quite brief as men are able to run with the Integrity model as a philosophical perspective for daily living (Lander, 1986;Lander & Nahon, 2000b, 2008a, 2008b, 2010a, 2011aMowrer, 1953Mowrer, , 1961Mowrer, , 1964Mowrer, , 1966Mowrer & Vattano, 1976;Nahon, 1993;, 1998, 2011, 2012, 2013. As these men were able to work through this process and acquire the understanding of the connections between symptoms and living with Integrity, they discovered a sense of resilience that allowed them to gain a new sense of mastery over their lives.…”

“…This article further addresses the literature's call for a focus on a strengths-based and gender-sensitive approach in working with men from a positive psychology perspective. It adds to the body of empirical and clinical knowledge regarding the viability of a values-based, existential perspective in engaging and working with men in therapy (e.g., Lander & Nahon, 2000b, 2008a, 2011a, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, challenging the "myth of the emotionally defective male". The "unsung heroes" that we have sung about today are the men who have crossed our thresholds for over four decades.…”

“…Mowrer's early community-based Integrity groups from the late 1960s to the mid-80s with men grappling with addictions and relational crises, as well as with impaired male physicians revealed that men were profoundly self-aware, expressive and insightful (Mowrer, 1953(Mowrer, , 1964. Results of the current authors' empirical and clinical investigations for over four decades beginning with Lander's group work with boys in the mid-60s (Lander, 1986) indicate that men have been receptive to this therapeutic approach that honours men's innate sense of wisdom, morality, relationality and Integrity as key therapeutic resources-challenging the "myth of the emotionally defective male" (e.g., Lander & Nahon, 2011a;, 2013.…”

“…Through the use of a case study, they offer the metaphor of the good therapist as the good pilot who "demonstrates that he can help a captain successfully navigate some challenging psychological waters" (p. 313), and thus is more likely to be consulted in the future by the male client-as-captain. Schermer (2013) proposes narrative therapy as an alternative approach for counsellors to work with men. He suggests that counsellors should "take special considerations for the narrating of men's problem-saturated stories, externalizing men's issues, challenging masculine metaphors, and constructing a unique masculine team" (p.136) in order to implement this approach with men.…”

“…We see it as arising from the violation of one's values and their discrepancies with one's actual deeds done rather than feared. What psychotherapy calls for is not new or different values, but rather for an increased fidelity to one's present values (Lander & Nahon, 2000a, 2000bNahon & Lander, 2012, 2013.…”