ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a trauma-informed narrative therapy approach to conversations with men that draws from the perspective of the feminist domestic violence field. It explores how men are recruited into the victim-only narrative through traumatic experiences and the influences of dominant masculinity. The chapter describes how the victim-only narrative serves to undermine men’s willingness and ability to take responsibility. It elaborates on five strategies for deconstructing the victim-only narrative: challenging dominant masculinity, attending to persistent hyper and hypo-arousal, establishing a collaborative relationship, separating the past from the present and challenging the victim/perpetrator binary. The chapter shows that men benefit more from therapeutic conversations if they can account for the various ways that dominant masculinity influences how men are expected to relate to others. A trauma-informed narrative therapy approach works compassionately with men around their victimization and in a manner that allows them to take greater responsibility.
