Abstract
Knowledge about the treatment of eating disorders is largely based on the experience of women with these disorders. The motivations, beliefs, vulnerabilities and developmental factors that cause and perpetuate eating disorders in men are often gendered. Engaging men in therapy and helping them build and sustain motivation requires therapeutic sensitivity to the impact of these gendered factors. Therapists’ sensitivity to these factors inevitably activates personal experiences with gender and provides an important source of information about patients’ experiences. This article focuses on how gender socialization and internalized views of masculinity affect client, therapist and the co-created therapeutic relationship. Male and female therapists can use awareness of gender influences to improve their ability to detect and communicate their gendered countertransference reactions. The article concludes with a discussion of how gendered assumptions and emotional reactions can affect treatment team interactions and treatment program protocols.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Addis, M. E., & Mihalik, J. R. (2003). Men, masculinity and the contexts of help seeking. American Psychologist, 58, 5–14.
Andersen, A. (2014). A brief history of eating disorders in males. In L. Cohn & R. Lemberg (Eds.), Current findings on males with eating disorders (pp. 4–10). New York, NY: Routledge.
Bergman, S. J., & Surrey, J. L. (1997). The woman-man relationship: Impasses and possibilities. In J. V. Jordan (Ed.), Women’s growth in diversity: More writings from the Stone Center (pp. 260–287). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Bunnell, D. W. (2009). Countertransference in the psychotherapy of patients with eating disorders. In M. Maine, W. N. Davis, & J. Shure (Eds.), Effective clinical practice in the treat of eating disorders: The heart of the matter (pp. 79–94). New York, NY: Routledge.
Bunnell, D. W. (2010). Men with eating disorders: The art and science of treatment engagement. In M. Maine, B. McGilley, & D. Bunnell (Eds.), Treatment of eating disorders: Bridging the research-practice gap (pp. 301–316). New York, NY: Elsevier.
Bunnell, D. W., & Maine, M. (2014). Understanding and treating men with eating disorders. In L. Cohn & R. Lemberg (Eds.), Current findings on males with eating disorders (pp. 168–182). New York, NY: Routledge.
Cohn, L., & Lemberg, R. (Eds.). (2014). Current findings on males with eating disorders. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. (1987). The eating disorder examination: A semi-structured interview for the assessment of the specific psychopathology of eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 6, 1–8.
Courtenay, W. H. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science and Medicine, 50, 1385–1401.
Englar-Carlson, M. (2006). Masculine norms and the therapy process. In M. Englar-Carlson & M. Stevens (Eds.), In the room with men: A casebook of therapeutic change (pp. 13–47). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Feldman, M., & Meyer, I. (2007). Eating disorders in diverse lesbian, gay and bisexual populations. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, 218–226.
Holmqvist, G. K., Frisén, A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Ricciardelli, L. A., Diedrichs, P. C., Yager, Z., et al. (2015). How is men’s conformity to masculine norms related to their body image? Masculinity and muscularity across western countries. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0038494
Hudson, J., Hiripi, E., Pope, H., & Kessler, R. (2007). The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 348–358.
Isacco, A. (2015). Measuring masculinity: Developmental contexts, men’s health, and qualitative research. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 16, 141–144.
O’Neil, J. M., Good, G. E., & Holmes, S. (1995). Fifteen years of theory and research on men’s gender role conflict: New paradigms for empirical research. In R. F. Levant & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 164–206). New York: Basic Books.
Olivardia, R. (2007). Body image and muscularity. In J. E. Grant & M. N. Potenza (Eds.), Textbook of men’s mental health (pp. 307–324). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Olivardia, R., Pope, H. G., Boroweicki, J., & Cohane, G. H. (2001). The growing commercial value of the male body: A longitudinal survey of advertising in women’s magazines. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 70, 189–192.
Pleck, J. H. (1995). The gender role strain paradigm: An update. In R. F. Levant & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), A new psychology of men (pp. 11–32). New York: Basic Books.
Rice, S., Fallon, B., & Bambling, M. (2011). Men and depression: The impact of masculine role norms throughout the lifespan. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 28, 133–144.
Smart, R. (2006). A man with a “woman’s problem”: Male gender and eating disorders. In M. Englar-Carlson & M. A. Stevens (Eds.), In the room with men: A casebook of therapeutic change (pp. 319–338). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Stanford, S. C., & Lemberg, R. (2014). Measuring eating disorders in men: Development of the Eating Disorders Assessment for Men (EDAM). In L. Cohn & R. Lemberg (Eds.), Current findings on males with eating disorders (pp. 93–102). New York, NY: Routledge.
Sweet, H. (2006). Finding the person behind the persona: Engaging men as a female therapist. In M. Englar-Carlson & M. A. Stevens (Eds.), In the room with men: A casebook of therapeutic change (pp. 69–90). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Woodside, D. B., Garfinkel, P. E., Lin, E., Goering, P., Kaplan, A. S., Goldbloom, D. S., & Kennedy, S. H. (2001). Comparisons of men with full or partial eating disorders, men without eating disorders, and women with eating disorders in the community. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 570–574.
Zell, E., Drizan, Z., & Teeter, S. R. (2015). Evaluating gender similarities and differences using metasynthesis. American Psychologist, 70, 10–20.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bunnell, D.W. Gender Socialization, Countertransference and the Treatment of Men with Eating Disorders. Clin Soc Work J 44, 99–104 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-015-0564-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-015-0564-z