Title: The stories of our fathers: Men’s recovery from intergenerational wounds.
Room 203, Graduate Student Centre
Committee Members:
Supervisor: Dr. Marv Westwood (CNPS)
Supervisory Committee: Dr. Marla Buchanan (CNPS) & Dr. David Kuhl (Family Practice)
University Examiners: Dr. Johne Oilffe (Nursing) & Dr. Marion Porath (ECPS)
External Examiner: Dr. William Randall (St. Thomas University)
ABSTRACT:
This study investigated the narratives recovery for men who have been injured in their relationship with their father. Six men participant 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 Research 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 occurs and provides 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 which revealed 6 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.