Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Men and Addiction will present to the student scientific, historical and statistical analysis of the male experience. Critical thinking skills will be heavily emphasized as a framework in which to evaluate relevant information. This course is required for students enrolled in the Alcohol
and Drug Counselor Program.

At the conclusion of this course students will be able to:
1. Describe and apply program elements of gender specific addiction treatment for boys and men.
2. Identify and demonstrate gender specific addiction treatment interventions and processes.
3. Incorporate Trauma and Wellness Informed Services specific to the male population.
4. Identify, address and monitor issues of countertransference that are stimulated when working with the male population.

1. Utilize critical thinking strategies to analyze gender specific information.
2. Identify gender specific communication styles. Describe how these differences could influence addiction treatment strategies.
3. Compare and contrast the "Stage 1" male to the "Stage 11" male as described in the book The Myth of Male Power.
4. Identify definitions of violence and sexual abuse and outline in terms of statistical evidence incidence rates among men relative to women from both perpetrator and victim perspective. 
5. Describe health issues specific to men including gender differences in utilization of health resources.
6. Describe the relationship between gender and suicide and factors which contribute to male suicide.
7. Describe cultural conditioning relative to the male roles of provider and protector and the impact this has on the "modern male" as described in the book The Myth of Male Power.
8. Describe the disparity in life expectancies between the genders relative to men being viewed as "success objects" and as the "disposable sex". Outline how addictive behaviors may be related to this disparity.
9. Identify recent research on male specific addiction treatment and the implications this research has for future treatment models.
10. Identify community resources which provide male specific services.
11. Describe the male experiencing in terms of parenting including examination of legal and social bias against fathers relative to custody issues.

At the beginning of each term, the instructor will detail the methods used to evaluate the student acquisition of the targeted competencies. The methods used may include one or more of the following tools: examinations, quizzes, homework assignments, research papers, small group projects, oral presentations or maintenance of a journal.

1. Critical Thinking Skills and Gender Specific Research
2. Cultural Bias prohibiting focus on male experience
3. Historic Male and Female Gender Roles
   1. Gender roles and communication patterns
   2. Man as protector and provider
   3. Emotional expression as a function of gender
   4. Parenting including legal bias against fathers
   5. Male relationships
4. Violence and sexual abuse
   1. Men as perpetrators
   2. Men as victims
   3. Social sanctions against disclosure of sexual abuse
   4. Social sanctions supporting male violence
       
5. Male specific health issues
   1. Factors effecting life expectancy
   2. Suicide risk and prevention strategies
   3. Male utilization of health resources
6. Addiction
   1. Patterns of addiction
   2. Contributors to addiction
   3. Male specific treatment approaches
7. Community Resources which provide male specific services
8. Multicultural (including sexual orientation) implications of course content
9. History and current status of "Men's Movement"