Men, Women and a Social Therapy Group

Dear Readers:

Our blog post on men’s lack of emotional development by my colleague, the social therapist and psychiatrist Dr. Hugh Polk, sparked a very rich dialogue — thank you to those who commented. We’re following up by sharing some concrete work done in social therapy groups on how men and women relate to each other.  Here’s Dr. Polk again:

Christine LaCerva, Director
Social Therapy Group

In social therapy groups, the therapist and the group members work to create an environment / conversation in which men and women together can work to develop emotionally. All of our groups are diverse — women and men, multiracial, gay and straight, different ages (adults, that is — we also have groups for children and families) and with people having a wide variety of emotional difficulties. The following is a rough transcript of a segment of the conversation that took place one evening. The names have been changed, of course, and I’ve called the therapist “Mark.” At the end I’ve added some comments of my own.

Men, Therapy and Underdevelopment

Dear Readers:

I’d like to introduce you to some of my colleagues at the Social Therapy Group, starting with Hugh Polk, MD, the medical director at the Social Therapy Group and a long-time community activist. I asked him what he thought about a recent article in the New York Times about men and therapy — two things many women wish went together more often. The article’s author posed a controversial question: “Does a man need to see a male therapist in order to get help?” I think you’ll find what Dr. Polk — a psychiatrist, a social therapist, and a man — has to say about this issue radically intriguing. — Christine LaCerva

Benedict Carey’s article in the New York Times (May 22, 2011) entitled “Need Therapy?  A Good Man is Hard to Find” documents the decreasing number of male psychotherapists and of men entering the profession. While acknowledging studies that suggest this trend has a negligible impact in the value of therapy, the author attempts to make the case that that this is a serious impediment to mental health care, particularly for men who are seeking therapy with a male therapist. Carey states that “Both male therapists and men who have been in treatment agree that there are certain topics that — at least initially, all things being equal — are best discussed within gender. Sex is one, they say… Aggression is another…”

The Hamburger Syndrome

Dr. Anthony Rao

by Christine LaCerva

(Click here to access this article in Chinese.)

A few weeks ago, I participated in a fascinating panel discussion in midtown Manhattan called “Breakthroughs in Child Psychology.” Joining me was child psychologist Anthony Rao, Ph.D. and Lois Holzman, Ph.D., director of the East Side Institute for Group and Short-Term Psychotherapy, who interviewed both of us on how we work with children and families.

Dr. Rao is a cognitive behavioral therapist who works with young boys experiencing learning and emotional problems. He is a strong challenger of traditional approaches in the field, as am I. Although our approaches are quite different, we share a humanistic outlook and a belief in the innate capacity of children to develop if put in environments (in this case therapeutic) that are nurturing, loving and challenging – without first resorting to medication.  Dr. Rao has just published an excellent book about his work with boys, entitled The Way of Boys: Raising Healthy Boys in a Challenging and Complex World. It’s a great read by a caring (and daring) clinician, one that I can’t recommend highly enough to parents and colleagues alike.