Chapter 14

More than

60% of counseling client are women.

Counseling Men 1 in 7 men seek counseling

Avoid eye contact and fight (fear), viewed more negative in society for men who seek counseling, More likely to commit suicide, engage in substance abuse, violent or risky behaviors

Other biology oriented writer have pointed to brain composition and chemistry

Brain tissues have been found to be different between men and women, with females seeming to have the capability to use both sides (left and right hemispheres) of the Brian for language and speech, while males language seems to be associated more with the left side of the brain (Men hear less well than females do) (Males more interested in action oriented items than relational items) (Girls are better at object discrimination "What is it?" Even shopping equvilant to gathering)

Margaret Fuller said, "Male and female represent the two sides of the great radical dualism.

But in fact they are perpetually passing into one another... There is no wholly masculine and, no purely feminine woman."

it is simply important that counselor be aware of their immediate reactions toward a client and help clients be alert to their own gendered lenses

Counselors bias may also support and communicate the stereotypical view that it is more important for a woman to make sacrifices and/or quit her career in order to take care of the children because sh is more nurturing

Examining the Value and Beliefs of Counselor and Client

Counselors examine their own and their client's gender identities and socialization. Counselor must recognize their own beliefs/bias about gender. Must proactively help clients examine their own gender identities and beliefs. Thru asking gender fair questions and gender roles as child development. Make patterns and assumptions about gender in the client's life visible to see other options.

Regardless of sex, counselor must be wary of encouraging traditional gender roles or outwardly discouraging them.

Counselors need to consider client's culture factors, norms, values, and beliefs, before determining how to work with a particular client or before assessing and diagnosing

With respect to heterosexual couples, paying attention to gendered relation has been acknowledged as centroal to the practice of family counseling

Gender may create challenges in problem solving and intimacy

Gender is a powerful and organizing variable in society

However, not all of the characteristics associated with gender differences are negatives

In western and other societies, people usually attribute characteristics, features, and traits to a person's biological sex

However, this assignment is more accurately referred to as gender.

Some parents report attempts to raise their children at home in "gender-neutral" ways

However, when the children go to school they begin to alter their behavior to become more "gender appropriate"

It is often the women who does the larger share of the

Iemotional/relational work in the relationship

Male Counselor=Female Client

May view female clients as sex objects. Physically attractive clients receive more supportive comments.

Traditional Model of "Opposite" Sex (Gender) Identity by Gilbert and Scher results in Western stereotypes of gender and sex.

This model, which pits men and women against each other as opposites in every respect, portrays the dominant U.S. Gender formulation. Males and Females are conceptualized differently in various aspects of life, one one's gender identity is prescribed according to one's biological sex.

Often men have not learned how to emote or relate intimately

While love relationships and intimacy mean a great deal to men, they often do not know how to foster or nurture intimacy.

Women enter counseling because there is less of a personal and social penalty for women regarding sharing their feelings

Women are seen as relationship oriented, expressive, and verbal which are all qualities consistent with counseling. Present with more Relationship problems, low self-confidence, feeling marginalized at work, overwhelmed about multiple roles and role conflicts, dissatisfaction with physical, sexual harassment or abuse,

Disruptions at various points in emotional processing

Wong and Rochlen suggest a model of recognizing and processing feeling in men (range from processing physiological feelings associated to displaying emotions) emotion violates the masculine gender role and whether it is appropriate to show or discuss emotion

Women and Career

Work World is complex, Sacrifice career for family, combine career with shouldering responsibilities, lower-wage employment, silent discrimination against working mothers, harassment, Walmart pay discrimination suit in 2004 1.6 mill females for descrimination

Gender stereotypes have consequences

a client expecting herself or himself to adhere firmly to a gender stereotypes might take away opportunities to experiment with other behaviors, often leading to feelings of depression, loneliness, or anger just because they are adhering to appropriate expectation for someone of their biological sex.

Men who deviate from masculine stereotypes often pay

a greater societal price than women who deviate from feminine stereotypes.

Gender stereotypes guide

a person's behavior so that she or he fits into predictable roles. Such assimilation can act as an organizer that structures society in terms of behaviors, expectations, and personalities.

Gender may be affected by a variety of social structures including

a person's ethnicity, employment status, religion, or absence of religion, and family.

Later in the relationship, when their female partners are looking for emotional intimacy, men may still be relying on

action-oriented expression, which is not always perceived as intimate by their partner.

It is possible and common for men and women to vary in the degree to which they

adopt, endorse, and are affected by gender roles.

Gender fair counseling

aims at facilitating the development of full client potential based on an individual's unique characteristics regardless of her or his gender.

Two possible explanation for the lack of emotional communication in men are

alexithymia and disturbances in emotional processing

Shame can be

an influential reason to conform to masculine norms including being teased by peers, ridiculed by family, and socially ostracized

When an individual encounter another person, she or he is typically categorized as male or female within seconds

and is it usually done unconsciously.

The gender categories are conceptualized as polar opposites in nurture

and men and women are seen as being rewarded for assimilating

In 2010, an estimated 154,000 dads stayed home to care for their children

and remained out of the workforce for at least 1 year to care for children under the age of 15.

Awareness of gender roles can be an important aspect of childhood development

and they are not as rigid now as they were in the past, but subtle difference and traditional roles still exist

Clients may feel shame and embarrassment about seeking or needing help from

another male (weak)

Biological sex roles for a female and a male differ in

any society or culture due to the distinct male and female sex and reproduction organs.

The Gender process creates what is

appropriate and acceptable and helps people fit within society based on these social construction.

Counselors need to be aware of how their own gender socialization and beliefs affect what they consider to be

appropriate behavior and examine their own stereotypes and biases

Many men who stay at home

are active with family relationships and children but feel isolated and gender role conflict

Women nurture model

are supposed to be thin or judged as lower in opinion and less intelligent. Women become depressed. which is done through social learning

Those who deviate from the traditional, expected gender stereotype tend to pay a price

being excluded from groups, less likely to make friends, less likely to establish intimate relationships, victims of violins. often through microagressions (sissy boy, tomboy girl

With assessment take in

beliefs about gender first, race, current stressor, gendered characteristics they adhereto, and other to provide a reliable assessment

Researcher are suggesting that sex differences in social interest may be

biological in origin

Societal gender roles often has that subtlety because

biological sex and gender are often seen interchangeable.

Gender is not directly related to

biological sex, Gender is a social construction that occurs within a cultural environment.

Fluid gender

both sexes experience sexual desire and similar feelings and emotional reactions. Both sexes can perform many occupations and roles within a family

Gender stereotypes can be functional

but when adhered to inflexibly, stereotypes can be damaging

Mental health professionals have in the past equated the characteristics of a health adult with those of a healthy man

by contrast, health women were characterized as less aggressive, more submissive, more excitable, and less competitive - characteristics associated more with less well or more pathological adults

Gender is not innately related to an individual's biological sex, but is constructed socially within the family and society

by using gender as a synonym for sex we confuse the language and perpetuate the myth that biology is destiny.

Gender Stereotypes

can be useful in organizing social discourse, and can serious limit human potential

Male client-Male counselor dyad

competitiveness, lack of emotion, empathy, and possible homophobia. (competitive particularly when client questions)

Gender roles

consists of the actions and behaviors that are seen as acceptable and appropriate for a female or male to engage in within a culture.

In the case of expressing emotions, men will typically rely on women to express the emotions in a

couples counseling session especially in the male/male counselor/client

The Gender process starts with birth or even ultrasound and continues until

death

Before 1920, women were

denied the right to vote in the U.S. because men were supposed to make all the decision for women.

Nature-oriented theorist also cite that women are more likely to experience

depression and anxiety than are men which has been suggested to be caused by differences in hormone secretion

Teachers and children in school promote conformity to gender-appropriate behavior through

direct instruction, encouragement, exclusion in play, and teasing.

The differences in gender roles for each sex, are important and add to the

diversity of human experiences and interactions

Female Counselor-Female client

doubts about counselor's competence which limit therapeutic gain. More emotionally intense therapeutic pairing. Full exploration of presenting concern. Aggression and anger are less accepted for female clients. Emotional intensity can be problematic and shaming. Shaming the client for taking on a more masculine stoic role

General rule, male and female gender roles are distinct from

each other based on the culture in which one Is socialized and not all society have the same norms. Woodabe Tribe

Counselors must

emphasize with nontraditional men to reduce feelings of shame.

Due to traditional model of "opposite sex" identity females

enter counseling voluntarily or through referrals from physicians relating it to socialization

Evolutionary psychologists explain the foundation for gender differences to be rooted in biology or nature

evidence for the nature dimension include the significant physical differences between the sexes that can affect behavior (women and men respond differently to medication)

Vanburen proposed four steps for gender-fair counseling

examining values and beliefs of both the counselor and the client; confronting biases that they may exist in the counselor or client that may limit client options; taking action toward gender-fair goals, and evaluating the outcomes,

Female Counselor-Male Client

exhibit power struggles and sexuality issues (difficult for some male to cede power to female counselor).Males May show more emotions though (focusing on emotional content may scare males away) Males may view the female counselor as sex objects and not take them as serious

Women's valuing relationships more also can make them feel responsible for a relations that is

failing- regardless of the reasons. Woman may have difficulty establishing and maintaining self-boundaries

Socialization that creates gender occurs through

families' expectations and modeling as well as through the media and other environments such as schools

Men nurture mode.

feel pressure to conform to masculine appearance, muscular body (mesomorphic body type) or judged as weak which is done through social learning

Despite these societal gender-sex constraints however, men and women cross societies gender lines

female athlete more masculine, male caretaker more feminine

Survey of 99 mental health professionals

female clients were seen as less competent than male clients, regardless of age

symmetry, thinness, and hourglass figure for women, and muscular triangular shape for men indicate

fertility and desirability

Classifying people by sex is an automatic response that has been

found to develop within the first few years of life, earlier that other classifications such as skin color.

Nurture

gender is an invisible societal structure that organizes the world into masculine and feminine.

Most children can indicate at a young age that they have clearly learned

gender roles and have a sense of their own gender identity by 24 to 36 months of age

since the the counseling process mirrors the societal context,

gender roles influence session content

Counselors tend to describe male and female clients in

gender stereotypical ways and then viewed as pathological for not conforming leading to bias in judgment and treatment recommendations

Families begin to socialize/train their children about

gender-appropriate behavior through both subtle and overt communications. about how to behave, speak , and dress

Assumptions made by counselors, consciously or unconsciously, based on biological sex and gender stereotypes can

harm a client and impact gender competence, which affects counseling outcomes.

Biology (sex)

has been found to play a role in some differences between men and women

Microagressions

have been described as brief, everyday occurances and exchanges that send condescending messages to people of color, LGBT individuals, and women (both subtle and covert, can be intentional

Gender stereotypes

help shape children's development, leading children to master the skills they will require as adults as well as assisting in socializing them so that they fit into their culture in terms of what society believes is a well functioning adult

Due to divorce rates, women are often the major breadwinners of a family

however, women continue to earn a lower average wage than men, and they continue to be the primary caregivers or assume the majority of the managerial responsibility for thing related to the family

Gender stereotyping can be a contradiction on

human potential and gender fluidity can be freeing

These biases play a role

in clinical judgment, diagnoses, competence, and other aspects of counseling.

One problem for the couple lies in the tendency for men to do most of these actions

in the earlier stage of dating

Boys are actually more vulnerable to

infectious diseases than are girls when they are first born.

The assumption that women should be responsible for intimacy and connectedness in a relationship, or that a man is not responsible for or capable of emotional expression and intimacy

is a bias. Like asking the female to increase her sexual engagement and not asking males to increase their emotional overtures. or woman does lion's share of the emotional work in the family system

Categorizing

is a cognitive label-saving device that allows humans to determine quickly how to treat people without having to take in unique individual aspects and the surrounding context for every individual

Feminist Theory

is an approach to counselor, for men and women, that considers gender roles. More of an overall philosophy which addresses the impact of gender in client's lives. An approach or lens for which a counselor views the world paying more attention to gender roles, power, privilege, and advocacy, use of personal power.

Gender role conflict

is the anxiety a person feel when her or his thoughts, feelings, or actions do not match those prescribed to the traditional gender role. (not feeling as masculine)

Gender competence

is the degree to which counselor can work effectively with both men and women

Gender Identity

is the gender with which a person identifies. For example, one person can be a biological male (i.e., sex) but identify more with the typical gendered characteristics of females, such as a desire to be more intimate in relationships

Gender

is what is assumed of an individual who is born into a particular sex, that is, the psychological, social, and cultural features and characteristics that have become strongly associated with the biological categories of male or female

Sex classification is important because

it helps people determine how to interact with each other and identify expectation of the other person.

both male and female counselors can and do form effective therapeutic alliances with their clients

it is not about the makeup of the counselor/client dyads, but effectiveness is more about the counselor's gender competence.

Heterosexual male counselors must

make an effort to manage such "sexual tension" in their work by treating all clients respectfully

Males tend to be more emotionally expressive than females

may be contributed to physical aggression but also socilization

Many couples re-create gender-learned patterns from their own development in their relationships.

men are more problem solving and women are more exploratory i

Due to traditional model of "opposite sex" identity Males

men do not often seek counseling because requesting help goes against the bias to be autonomous, strong, and unemotional. Perceive it as a threat and usually forced (spouse)

Once they catch a partner

men tend to reduce their efforts at intimacy, then they are surprised when a woman wants more than money, sex, or time.

alexithymia

merely means the inability to put emotions into words

Parent also train for gender by

modeling behavior, rewards, and consequences

Traditional gender prescriptions from four decades in the Bowerman study presevere with women being sen as

more relational relative to societal standards, yet also more dependent and weak in nature. Men are seen as more aggressive and independent, which, in turn, has been viewed as being more competent overall.

Parents describe

newborns children differently by gender within 24 hours, with girls more delicate and body hardier and coordinate, as the age parents think boys are more competent and capable than girls. Girls need more protection (fragile and vulnerable)

Stereotypes can exaggerate the notion

of men and women as opposites and direct result of biological sex

A counselor's initial understanding of a client tends to be based on supposed biological sex

or, in actuality, on the assumptions of expected gender traits of a clients biological sex. This has a resulted in over diagnosis of disorders such as depression and anxiety, histrionic, or borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and self-harm behavior for women, and antisocial personality, alcohol and drug abuse, and antisocial personality, attention deficit disorder in men

Sexism

overt forms of miccroaggression which have become more hidden in microagressions

Beginning of relationship men can lose alot

part of who they are (giving up friends) or be unable to decide what they want emotionally because they often allow the parterres to take the lead on intimacy

One extreme view posits that biology is

primarily responsible for creating and structuring gender identity. Importance on impact of genes and hormones on the mind and body

Perfect mom

provides unconditional love and care for others and her family -a cultural perspective that females are expected to mature into caregivers

Women have been found to have more physical and psychological illnesses than men

regardless of country or context, with possible cause being explored (menstrual cycle)

There is no one true, direct connection between

sex and gender because one's gender identity can diverge from one's biological sex

women will typically suggest that their emotional difficulties stem from

social relationships, early sexual experiences, intimate partner violence, or other adverse social experiences

Owen and colleagues found that not all counselors could effective work with male and female clients and that

some could work better with one sex versus another

Women who are returning to the workplace

some work environments tend to employ recent graduates, problematic for those returning after raising children, Absence of accessible child care, long hours, weekend work, and frequent travel is problematic

To engage in counseling, men must

step out of their typical roles of being autonomous, aggressive and in control, and must be vulnerable and express emotions

Men are less likely to

talk, share feelings, or collaborate with the counselor

Women typically show intimacy through emotional an physical closeness while men

tend to show intimacy thru actions, such as doing activities, giving up friends, and romantic acts.

Male client who did not quite fit the male counselor's gender stereotype

the counselor felt less empathetic, less comfortable, and less willingness to see client

The result in counseling in this dyad can be that the client's goal is not adequately worked on, due to at least four reasons

the counselors discomfort in the relationship, inability to focus, incorrectly judging the female client's behavior and nonverbal, abandoning the client by terminating or referring her.

Boy code

the expectation to be strong, stoic, and in control, and this code is carried into adulthood for men

Socialization

the lifelong social experience by which people develop their human potential and learn culture and how learn how to think and act

Gender development theories are rooted in

the men versus women paradigm

Nature vs. Nurture

the relative influence of biology (nature) and socialization (nurture) on gender

If a client is comfortable within the traditional model, and this model is not causing distress,

then it is not a counselor's role to convince the client otherwise.

When men seek out counseling services,

they are more likely to be in a crisis or forced

When individuals adhere rigidly to the restriction of gender stereotypes

they constrain their own experiences and abilities and may possibly inhibit or judge others. (Counseling overusing diagnoses for a particular sex)

The two world wars where an exception for female work roles

this is women had to take on physical low-wage factory jobs.

Men can get in touch with intimacy

through expressive arts to share feelings.

Women do not

trust the mental system so provide choices about counseling therapy

One can seemingly choose the level at which one adhere to stereotypic gender roles,

violations of gender stereotypes are met with forms of societal punishment, devaluation, and exclusion

Male counselors who identify with Traditional Model may find it difficult to show

warmth, concern, or caring to male clients. Conversely, male client may have difficulty with a male counselor who is empathetic.

Male counselors are more annoyed with female clients than with males

when questioning counselors judgment. Males are less open and more self-critical

Sex refers to

whether one is born biologically female or male.

In the 1970s, feminist theorists made a distinction between sex and gender

which was considered a breakthrough because it no longer ascribed differences to sex.

Male counselor may also adopt a power position in a session

with female clients who assume subordinate role. (powerlessness)

Men and Career

work dominate their identity and lives, expected to be the primary breadwinner, work is valued above other things, justifying that they are providing for their families. This thought leads to overwork, marital and familial dissatisfaction, work is harder to come by for Mr. Mom, sense of success or failure based on work is oppressive