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From: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Newsgroups: net.singles,net.women
Subject: Re: Effectiveness of psychotherapy
Message-ID: <391@gargoyle.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Mar-86 19:51:06 EST
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.391
Posted: Fri Mar 28 19:51:06 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Apr-86 07:40:47 EST
References: <12390@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <377@gargoyle.UUCP> <129@proper.UUCP>
Reply-To: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Organization: U. of Chicago, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 25
Xref: watmath net.singles:11315 net.women:9917
Summary: 

In article <129@proper.UUCP> barb@proper.UUCP (Barbara Petersen) writes:
>In article <377@gargoyle.UUCP>, carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes) writes:
>> In my opinion, what a therapist does, fundamentally, is to help the
>> patient forgive herself for being a human being and accept
>> responsibility for her own life.
>
>Ummmm.... not to be difficult, but.... is there any reason you
>specifically use 'her' in this sentence?

Most patients in psychotherapy are female, I think by a large margin,
and I believe most therapists are male, at least in the US.  I think
the preponderance of females in therapy is basically a result of
male/female differences in socialization.  Many or most men have been
brought up to believe that real men tough things out without
depending on the assistance of others, and have been taught to be
ashamed of experiencing the emotions that women experience more
freely.  "Big boys don't cry."  So it is likely that for many men, to
recognize that they could use some help in solving their personal
problems and to bare their soul to a therapist is perceived as a weak
and unmanly thing to do.  One may speculate that this male/female
difference in socialization accounts for much of the difference
between male and female rates of drug abuse, crime, suicide, and
stress-related disorders.
-- 
Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes