Abstract
Group therapy can be more effective for men than individual therapy. Since men learn defensive masculinity in groups of men, they can best unlearn it in groups, as a step towards maturity. Many males grow up with inadequate fathering, which affects their own masculinity, building in a sense of distance. But what men missed in their own fathers they may find in other men in order to ‘re-programme’ their internal lack. Exploring identity issues and practising being emotionally present in groups facilitate better family and work relationships. Supported by therapeutic menswork, men can challenge the patterns of dominant masculinity to become a force for social change in their own communities.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Nick Duffell is a psychotherapy trainer and psychohistorian who co-founded the Centre for Gender Psychology and founded Boarding School Survivors. He is the author of The Making of Them and Wounded Leaders, and a contributor to the University of Surrey’s Dictionary of Personal Development. Nick also co-authored Sex, Love and the Dangers of Intimacy (with Helena Lovendal-Duffell, Lone Arrow, 2012) and Trauma, Abandonment and Privilege (with Thurstine Basset, Routledge, 2016).