The relevance of male psychology to modern South Africa

This is the ninth blog in the series The 12 blogs of Christmas based on the Psychreg Journal of Psychology (PJP) special issue on male psychology

Given generations of trauma in South Africa, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) set up a psychology degree which equipped graduates with practical counselling skills based on contemporary Western ideas. Sounds like a fantastic idea, so what could possibly go wrong?

The ninth paper in the PJP special issue on male psychology is a powerful description of how good intentions can lead to questionable results. Angelo Vincenzo De Boni is a student on one of these degree programmes. Although he started out with high hopes for gaining insights into human behaviour and motivation, and of developing skills to help others, Angelo soon realised that contemporary Western notions of therapy contaminated with unscientific views about gender and social justice. This led him on a journey of discovery, questioning the wisdom of the application of such ideas to therapy to his fellow South African people. 

In his article, Angelo suggests that although South Africans were victimised by Apartheid in the past, current ideologies are fermenting this victimology. The hope born in 1994 with Nelson Mandela would be better served by an empowering psychology, especially for the huge numbers of men lost between the modern age of feminised university and traditional rural life, who are pariahs wherever they go, and drift into drugs, crime and suicide.

I recommend you read Angelo’s powerful account of why training in psychology in South Africa needs to be more evidence-based and less ideology-based. The full article can be accessed by clicking the button below.

Dr John A. Barry is a Chartered Psychologist and Professional Researcher.  He is a leading expert in the areas of male psychology including men’s mental health and the psychological aspects of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). His new book, Perspectives in Male Psychology: An Introduction (ISBN: 978-1-119-68535-7), co-authored with Louise Liddon, is published in the new year and is available to pre-order now.