Supporting men through their clinical work is a passion of mine . I love consulting with other clinicians to share the resources that I pull into my trainings and practice. Below you will find the main resources I’ve used to develop both my trainings and clinical work.
Dr. Jackson Katz:
His work has guided my professional life long before I knew he who he was. I found out years later, that a large portion of my work in Bystander Education in the Air Forces was guided by his work for the Marine Corps’s Leadership Course. Dr. Katz was the first man I encountered working from a place of positive masculinity in a way that resonated with my own journey and work. I can’t speak highly enough of his work and its impact on my understanding of positive masculinity.
For a quick view of some of his contributions, check out his Ted Talk:
For the presentation, the two big pieces of his work I pull from are:
Tough Guise 2: Violence, Manhood, and American Culture (2013) found here: http://www.jacksonkatz.com/videos/
This documentary is a fantastic watch that discusses the ways our culture often isolates boys and incorporates power and control into the foundations of American Masculinity.
The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help (2006) found here: http://www.jacksonkatz.com/books/
This covers many of the same themes and research as the documentary with specific guidance for women hoping to reach men and a call to action for men to take on violence in our culture.
Dan Griffin:
The next person that has influenced my work is Dan Griffin and his Men’s Rules. I primarily use his themes and writings in helping men work through struggles with addiction. He has a wonderful Podcast with numerous episodes touching on many themes. For a full accounting of his work go to his website:
Dr. Brene Brown:
Many many… many clinicians and peers speak to her work on shame and its impact on their lives; I’m no different. I have gotten a lot from Dr. Brown’s work. For men’s issues specifically, I love her second Ted Talk and her willingness to speak about her own unexplored bias against working with men. In acknowledging how women’s views impact the struggle on men’s shame, she spoke directly to men in a way most have not.
If you haven’t taken the time to watch them, here is the direct link to both of her wonderful Ted Talks:
Dr. Robert Augustus Masters
I like Dr. Masters’s work as he comes at masculinity as a place of empowerment instead of “toxic.”
Dr. Robert Augustus Masters’s “How to Be a Man: A guide to true masculine power.”
https://www.robertmasters.com/book/to-be-a-man/
Sebastian Junger
Mr. Younger’s primary focus is on the need for community and how veterans struggle with the loss of community when leaving their military service. The deeper, underlying message of his work is that modern life, left unexamined, leads to isolation. I find this a powerful concept when working with men. Men are often underprepared to maintain and create community outside of professional and academic settings. His book is powerful, and his TED talk is worth watching.
Sabastian Younger’s “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging”
http://www.sebastianjunger.com/tribe-by-sebastian-junger
Here is his TED Talk: