The Male Student’s Experience in a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program: A Qualitative Study
Robert Keisner, Ph.D, Chair
Abstract
What is it like to be a member of a male minority in a clinical psychology doctoral program (CPDP)? How does it feel to be in the classroom when you are among a few men in a sea of women and find yourself reading and discussing topics such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, privilege, feminism, sexism, empathy and gender? This study explores the experiences that characterize men as they proceed through such a program where they often feel blamed and attacked simply because they belong to the category-male. A qualitative, hypothesis-generating paradigm utilizing a focus-group methodology developed by Auerbach and Silverstein (2003) was employed to gather, code and analyze the data. 17 male students attending CPDPs were recruited to participate in four focus groups. Transcripts of the focus groups were coded and analyzed and three overarching theoretical constructs were developed: 1) The male student experiences minority status: How does it feel to become a “problem?,” 2) The confirmation and disconfirmation of traditional male privilege and 3) The professional and personal growth of male students. Limitations, implications as well as directions for future research are discussed. By increasing the understanding of male students’ experiences in CPDPs, this study also provides a broader foundation of knowledge regarding how male students react to social issues of oppression, power and privilege and how they can grow personally and professionally via their academic and clinical training. This study is not only germane to CPDPs and clinical psychology as a field, but to the entire study of men in female-dominated professions.