Normalization: Depathologizing Male Behavior to Create a New Treatment Paradigm

Expanding on our 2013 APHA presentation “Working With Men: Reframing The Therapeutic Encounter,” the authors maintain that negative characterization of male responses, or what we have termed “male profiling,” impacts both diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders in men.  Based on a careful analysis of brain anatomy and the influences of endocrinology, we have identified a more thoughtful and effective model for understanding both gender differences and male behavior, “maleness,” as a phenomenon and not an illness. Such a model has pertinent implications for psychotherapy and the evaluation of male behavior.  Anatomical differences in the brain underpin the male’s proclivities toward action, problem-solving, and solution-seeking. We argue that understanding both male and female inclinations toward approaching a life situation needs to be viewed as different, yet simultaneously valuable. This leads naturally to a more strength-based, rather than deficit-based system for working with men. When the formulation of health policies and programs are defined more closely by our biological and brain-based differences, we can arrive at a more evidence-based approach to men's health policy and the development of best practices.