Interpersonal psychotherapy with men who experience gender role conflict

Although research on men's gender role conflict reveals that it adversely a ffects men's psychological health and interpersonal relationships, psychoth erapists typically underuse knowledge of masculine gender roles in psycholo gical assessment and treatment. Interpersonal psychotherapy is proposed as a useful framework for working with men whose rigid enactment of traditiona l male gender roles leads to intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict (i.e. , gender role conflict). Thus, this article integrates knowledge of male ge nder role conflict and interpersonal psychotherapy to examine issues that m en who experience gender role conflict bring to their important interperson al relationships and the therapeutic relationship.