The stories of our fathers : men’s recovery from intergenerational wounds

• Main Author: Dadson, Michael R.
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45213

This study investigated the narratives of recovery for men who have been injured in their relationship with their father. Six men participated in the study and each man reported that they had been injured in their relationship with their father and have therapeutically engaged in the process of recovery. These men worked with the researcher towards the co-construction of their narrative of recovery and this provided an in-depth examination of the men's subjective experiences. Six narratives were written in the first person focusing on the process of recovery. Each narrative was co-analyzed with individual participants by using Arvay’s (2003) Collaborative Narrative Method. Narratives were returned to the respective co-researcher in order to evaluate the worth of the study. The study explored the process of recovery in the unique personal context in which it occurred and provided concrete examples of what the recovery process is actually like. In order to uncover the patterns of recovery, a cross narrative theme analysis was conducted that revealed six primary patterns of recovery. The results show that there may be a convergence of trauma for men when developmental trauma and masculine gender role trauma intersect. The narrative patterns of recovery that emerge help highlight and provide critical components of treatment and recovery for men who experience this convergence of trauma. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate