Maskulinitetens mening : En fenomenologisk undersökning av den psykoterapeutiska situationen

Sammanfattning: Masculinity is an elusive and ambiguous phenomenon that can manifest itself in many different ways in different contexts. This study focuses on the emergence of masculinity within the psychodynamic psychotherapeutic situation, with a focus on how masculinity is experienced. Both patient and therapist carry notions and experiences of masculinity into the therapy room. In addition, the psychotherapeutic situation, in itself, can evoke notions of gender. Sometimes masculinity can be the focus of the therapy, which previous research to some extent has drawn theoretical attention to, with a focus on certain aspects. However, there is a need for an empirical holistic approach to how masculinity is manifested in psychotherapy.The purpose of the dissertation is to clarify the meaning of masculinity, as it appears in the psychotherapeutic situation. This purpose is answered by empirically describing how masculinity is experienced in psychotherapy from two perspectives – the patient's and the psychotherapist's. The study is based on 27 in-depth interviews which were analyzed using a phenomenological method. The result is presented in the form of two meaning structures; one for the patient's experience of masculinity and another for the psychotherapist's experience. Finally, these two meaning structures are compared, in order to highlight common features and differences.The study shows that the patient's experience of masculinity is primarily rooted in the patient’s lived, first-person perspective, while the therapist's experience to a greater extent is constituted by a second- and third-person perspective. Both patient and therapist symbolize and conceptualize masculinity through different levels, where they share a bodily and a ”taken-for-granted” dimension. Their conceptualizations differ in that the therapist also has access to a theoretically informed perspective. Both patient and therapist constitute masculinity in a normative way; for the patient, the normative dimension is perceived in terms of ego-syntonic and ego-dystonic masculinity ideals and norms, while the therapist defines masculinity as either a positive or a negative phenomenon.A distinctive aspect of the result is, that masculinity can appear in terms of suffering for the patient or in terms of masculinity issues for the therapist. The masculinity suffering/masculinity issues can be associated with a polarized or immature form of masculinity, which – in the context of therapy – can undergo changes until appearing in a non-polarized, mature way. Another type of masculinity suffering, is when the patient does not feel in contact with masculinity. The result describes a changed masculinity experience in terms of a changed masculinity narrative, which can undergo three different elements; the prefigurative ground, the configurative processing, and the refigurative gestalt of masculinity. The study also sheds light on how the patient and therapist relate to one another in the light of a changed masculinity narrative.The comparative analysis shows that masculinity can be attributed with divergent meanings within the psychotherapeutic situation, and also includes a developmental, therapeutic and normative dimension. One conclusion is that masculinity has two sources of meaning; one lived and one theoretical origin. The lived perspective is linked to the life world, while the theoretical perspective has the potential to elaborate and broaden the life world experience of masculinity.