Family Therapists and Family
Therapy on Family Therapists. US
Find
a Therapist To Treat Mens Issues
Why
Men's Therapy?
From
childhood onward, men appear to be at
risk. Infant males are more likely to
undergo complications during labor and
delivery and to have more birth
defects. Boys often manifest
behavioral difficulties and learning
disabilities in elementary school. By
eighth grade, boys are only half as
likely as girls to aspire to be a
professional or career person; boys
are nine times more likely to suffer
from hyperactivity and more than twice
as likely to be suspended from school.
Men are less likely to attend college
and/or graduate school than women.
Compared to young women, young men are
four times more likely to be victims
of homicide and five times more likely
to kill themselves.
Men
suffer under a code of masculinity
that requires them to be: aggressive,
dominant, achievement oriented,
competitive, rigidly self-sufficient,
adventure seeking, willing to take
risks, emotionally restricted, and
constituted to avoid all things
perceived as 'feminine.' Such a code
is bound to take a toll on men's
longevity. The average life expectancy
for males in the United States is
seven years shorter than that for
women. Traditional male role traits
inhibit men from seeking medical help
in the early stages of disease and
from being sufficiently attuned to
their own internal processes to detect
early warnings of illness.
In a
society in which men are expected to
be strong, independent, aggressive,
and impervious to emotional stress,
boys are nine times more likely than
girls to suffer from hyperactivity,
young men are five times more likely
to commit suicide than young women,
and men have far higher rates of
substance abuse and antisocial
personality disorder than women.
Clearly, many men are in need of
psychological treatment and
psychotherapy. Ironically, however,
the very qualities that are
responsible for many of their
emotional and behavioral difficulties
make it much more difficult for men to
admit they have problems, seek
professional help, or have faith in
the efficacy of treatment. It is
our hope that this directory will make
the search for help easier.
