Friday, September 6, 2013

Getting Psychology in the Psychology of Men and Masculinity


This interesting panel discussion from the 2013 APA Conference offers an interesting look at the challenges of getting psychology into the study and praxis of men and masculinity.

The presenters are academics (faculty or students) and not practitioners, so it feels like a critical perspective is missing - the "on the ground" daily work some of us do in counseling men.

What all of the student presenters have in common is an interest in how the "man box" (the gender norms and rules accepted and installed by the culture) impact men in their mental health, emotional expression, and relationships.

Interesting - and good to see young people pursuing these topics.



Getting Psychology in the Psychology of Men and Masculinity

Published on Jun 3, 2012

The Men's Coping Lab at Clark University organized a symposium at the American Psychological Association Convention in San Francisco, California. The symposium discussed the utility grounding research on men and masculinity in extant basic psychology models and theories.

Chair: Michael Addis, comments read by Alisha Pollastri
Presenters (by appearance - bios below):
MySha Whorley
Jason Berkowitz
Matthew Syzdek
Jonathan Green

Our research team consists of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students in the Department of Psychology at Clark.



Dr. Michael Addis is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Clark University. He received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Washington in 1995. Dr. Addis has published over fifty scientific articles and books on men's well-being, depression, anxiety, and the relationship between scientific research and clinical practice in psychology. He is currently interested in links between the social learning of masculine norms and the way men experience, express, and respond to problems in living.



MySha Whorley is a fourth-year clinical psychology graduate student at Clark. Her overarching research interests are in the relationship between adherence to masculine norms and men's experience and expression of emotion. MySha recently concluded a study examining the relationship between adherence to masculine norms, negative affect, and the level of emotion expressed in men’s written disclosures. Her dissertation project will test an intervention to reduce depressive symptoms and increase social support seeking in men recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.



Jason Berkowitz is a senior undergraduate at Clark. His overarching research is men's mental health and partners of mental health patients. He hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to continue research and to provide therapy. Jason is currently formulating an honor's project on the male partners of individuals with a mental disorder.



Matthew Syzdek is a second-year clinical psychology student at Clark. His overarching interests are gender, class, mental health, and social justice, with a focus on how working class men deal with problems in their lives. Matt's current project examines stresses experienced by men following job loss. In his future work, Matt plans to integrate research, clinical work, and advocacy in the pursuit of bettering men’s well-being and mental health. He hopes that his work will eventually impact the lives of individual men as well as public policy.



Jonathan Green is a first-year clinical psychology graduate student at Clark. His overarching research interests include adherence to masculine norms and depression in men; specifically the concept of "covert" or "masked" depression. Jonathan is currently studying the relationship between men's psychophysiology, endorsement of masculinity norms, and reported feelings of sadness.

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