Unpacking the Tough Guise: Toward a Discursive Approach for Working with Men in Family Therapy

Abstract

This article explores the potency of a discursive approach for better understanding the complexity of men’s masculinity within a therapeutic context. Two familiar accounts of masculinity are outlined and the limitations of these approaches for family therapy considered. The authors suggest that a social constructionist, discursive approach can lead to more productive therapeutic work with men. Toward this end, the concepts of discourse and positioning are presented. These discursive concepts make the cultural production of masculinity more visible, which provides men in family therapy more freedom to explore problems with less totalizing descriptions. In addition, it is proposed that a discursive analysis which acknowledges and honors the cultural context of masculinity invites men to resist those discourses that constrict and constrain them. Implications for practice are included.