Gender Roles, Sex, and the Process of Psychotherapy: Many Questions and Few Answers

Abstract

While gender roles have a profound effect on individuals in our culture, there has been a dearth of research on the impact of counselor and client gender roles on the therapy process. Also, the research and theory that do exist on this topic suffer from the misguided assumption that biological sex is equivalent to socialized gender role behaviors. The authors review and critique the research and theory on sex, gender roles, and the process of therapy. A new paradigm through which to view and conduct this research is offered, and a number of potentially fruitful directions for future research are suggested.

Understanding How Masculine Gender Scripts May Contribute to Men's Adjustment Following Treatment for Prostate Cancer

“…The process of gender socialization is described as one in which social and cultural forces (e.g., peers, parents, teachers, and media) influence males and females to adopt certain ideal roles for their gender (Gilbert & Scher, 1999;Mintz & O'Neil, 1990). These ideals guide and constrain masculine and feminine identity development by dictating how boys and girls are socialized, what tasks children are taught, and what life roles are acceptable for men and women (Best & Williams, 2001).…”

“…By way of these processes, boys learn powerful and enduring lessons about their social roles and how they should think, act, and feel in those roles (Mintz & O'Neil, 1990). Gradually, these roles are internalized as ideal masculine states (Mintz & O'Neil, 1990).…”

“…Gradually, these roles are internalized as ideal masculine states (Mintz & O'Neil, 1990). With time, these ideals become masculine scripts of acceptable ways for boys and men to think, feel, and behave (Mahalik, Good, & EnglarCarlson, 2003).…”

Counselors' Attributions of Blame Toward Female Survivors of Battering

“…In a seminal study of clinicians' perceptions of men and women, Broverman, Broverman, Clarkson, Rosenkrantz, and Vogel (1970) Gender socialization processes not only affect clinicians' perceptions of male and female clients; they also seem to influence these perceptions based on the gender of the counselor. Because gender is an essential part of the way individuals view society (Geis, 1993), it is also expected that clinicians enter the therapeutic process as gendered beings (Mintz & O'Neil, 1990). Furthermore, male and female therapists have been shown to form attributions differently, where male counselors attribute greater amounts of responsibility to clients in the change process than female counselors (Cline, 1999).…”

“…One possible explanation for this is that male counselors, just as females, are encouraged in counselor training programs to examine gender self-awareness (CACREP, 2009). Although this process is crucial to counselors increasing their ability to facilitate growth among clients, male counselors in contemporary society are still subject to the same gendered socialization messages as others (Mintz & O'Neil, 1990). Thus, male counselors in modern society have likely increased their awareness through counselor training, but their underlying values and beliefs may remain heavily influenced by societal messages about gender roles (Mobley, 2004).…”