TY - JOUR
T1 - Using Metaphors to Facilitate Exploration of Emotional Content in Counseling With College Men
AU - Genuchi, Matthew C.
AU - Hopper, Brian
AU - Morrison, Charles R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - Mental health professionals in college counseling centers are increasingly interested in understanding the challenges of effectively working with male college students. Not all men are difficult to work with in therapy, but certain masculine gender role norms, particularly restricted emotionality, can create challenges to the therapeutic process. However, therapeutic metaphors that are familiar to male clients can provide a safe entry point to emotional topics. We describe a framework of using metaphors with college men that involves connecting with interests of male clients, establishing rapport, and facilitating a nonthreatening common language to develop metaphors for exploration of vulnerable emotions. Brief case examples are then used to illustrate effective implementation of therapeutic metaphors with traditional male clients experiencing difficulty with emotions.
AB - Mental health professionals in college counseling centers are increasingly interested in understanding the challenges of effectively working with male college students. Not all men are difficult to work with in therapy, but certain masculine gender role norms, particularly restricted emotionality, can create challenges to the therapeutic process. However, therapeutic metaphors that are familiar to male clients can provide a safe entry point to emotional topics. We describe a framework of using metaphors with college men that involves connecting with interests of male clients, establishing rapport, and facilitating a nonthreatening common language to develop metaphors for exploration of vulnerable emotions. Brief case examples are then used to illustrate effective implementation of therapeutic metaphors with traditional male clients experiencing difficulty with emotions.
KW - masculinity
KW - restricted emotionality
KW - therapeutic metaphors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019162289&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/psych_facpubs/240
U2 - 10.1177/1060826516661187
DO - 10.1177/1060826516661187
M3 - Article
SN - 1060-8265
VL - 25
SP - 133
EP - 149
JO - Journal of Men's Studies
JF - Journal of Men's Studies
IS - 2
ER -