Therapy with Men and Boys: A Guide for Clinicians
Every mental health provider who works with men and/or boys knows how challenging it can be. Therapy requires our male clients to be vulnerable and admit their need for help. That's pretty terrifying for a lot of men and boys. The good news is that there are clinicians and researchers who have devoted their careers to learning how to overcome these challenges. In this podcast, we will try to fill the gap in your clinical knowledge, with the help of the leading experts in working with boys and men, who will share their wisdom and tools with all of us.
About your co-hosts:
Dr. Erica Liebman is a clinical psychologist based in Philadelphia who splits her time between her private practice working with individuals and couples, performing assessments of military veterans and working on various projects that further the awareness of issues facing men and boys. She is a board member of the Society for the Psychology of Men & Masculinities, a division of the American Psychological Association. Her two main foci in this realm is advocating for increased education about boys and men in APA psychology programs as well as helping to bridge the divide between men and women through compassion and understanding. Dr. Liebman can be reached via her website www.ericaliebmanpsyd.com
Dr. David Shepard is a practicing Los Angeles-based psychologist with over 30 years of experience specializing in working with men, both individually and as the male parter in couple therapy. Dr. Shepard is a member of the Society for Psychology of Men & Masculinities, a division of the American Psychological Association, and a past-president of the division. He is Professor Emeritus in Counseling at California State University, Fullerton, and the author of numerous publications about working with men and making couple therapy work for male partners. He can be reached at drdavidshepard@gmail.com. His website is drdavidshepard.com
Episodes
10 episodes
Episode 10: Need a Clear Map for Working with Male Clients? Dr. Andrew Smiler Has One
In previous episodes, psychologists Erica Liebman and David Shepard have interviewed master therapists who take a relational approach to helping male clients. This time, we’re doing something different: We are learning about a pragmatic problem...
Episode 09: Part II on Assessing for Suicide: With Demonstration
In Part 1 of this 2-part series, suicidologist, Dr. John-Sommers Flanagan discussed with Erica and David what researchers know and don’t know about why so many men kill themselves. While males and females attempt suicide in equal numbers, men a...
Episode 08: 40,000 Male Suicides A Year: Re-thinking How Therapists Should Be Assessing Their Male Clients
Imagine this scenario. Your client is a middle-aged man - depressed, possibly suicidal. But he won’t talk about his feelings. He admits to suicidal ideation but brushes it off. You are very worried. You go through your assessment checklist and ...
Episode 07: "Was that Appropriate?" Navigating Sexualized Comments from Male Clients
Female therapists face unique challenges when male clients make sexualized comments—whether overt advances, suggestive language, or subtle seductive tones. These moments can rupture the therapeutic alliance and trigger countertransference, maki...
Episode 06: Reaching Therapy-hesitant Men: Through Social Media and in First Sessions
How do you help men who won’t seek help? Dr. Audra Horney found the answer on TikTok.In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Erica Liebman and Dr. David Shepard talk with psychologist Dr. Audra Horney about her innovative approach to one o...
Episode 05: Straight Therapist/Gay Male Client: What Heterosexual Clinicians Need to Know
If you’re a heterosexual therapist working with adult men, chances are you'll also be working with gay men. But how prepared do you really feel? Most graduate programs and internships offer little guidance on how to navigate the unique clinical...
Episode 04: Lessons from Couple Therapy: How to Engage the Male Partner on the Road to Connection
Why are so many men ambivalent about coming to couple therapy? And so many therapists struggle with engaging men in the therapy process? In this special episode, Dr. Erica Liebman looks for answers by interviewing her co-host, Dr. David Shepard...
Episode 03: The Manosphere: What It Is and What It Means for your Therapy with Young Men
The "manosphere" gets a lot of attention in the media- but what is it, really? At its core, it's a loose online network of influencers talking about a range of topics, but all having a connection with masculinity, male identity, and "what it me...
Episode 02: Female Therapists-Male Clients: Crossing the Gender Divide
Working with male clients as a female therapist presents unique challenges. What happens when your client shuts down, or none of your empathic responses seem to land, or you just can't seem to develop that crucial therapeutic alliance? What do ...
Episode 01: Building Relationships and Uncovering Emotions
Join us for the very first episode of Therapy with Boys and Men: A Guide for Clinicians. In this episode with guest Dr. Fred Rabinowitz, we explore how to accomplish the most important and often challenging tasks therapists need to ...