Abstract
This study examines male gender role conflict (GRC) and its effect on therapeutic relationships in Ireland. The research was conducted to identify if psychotherapy and counselling training or personal therapy has an effect on GRC. Further investigation explored how GRC affects a man’s decision to seek counselling, and also its influence on their choice of gender when choosing a counsellor. The results also explore if GRC encourages/affects a preference in gender for the counsellors when choosing a client. The results were achieved by comparing the GRC levels from 20 counsellors and 20 non-counsellors. The GRC levels were obtained using a quantitative approach, employing the Gender Role Conflict Scale-Short Form (GRCS-SF) (Wester, Vogel, O'Neil, & Danforth, 2011) (Appendix 1) in order to measure the four factors that GRC affects: Success, Power, and Competition (SPC); Restricted Emotionality (RE); Restrictive and Affectionate Behaviour Between Men (RABBM); and Conflict Between Work and Family Relations (CBWFR). Author keywords: Gender role, conflict scale, socialisation
