A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Exploration of the Male Therapists' Embodied Lived Experience—Being With Male Clients Who Have Disordered Eating Behaviours: When Two Bodies Meet in the Therapy Room

ABSTRACT Background A first hermeneutic phenomenological exploration of cis‐men therapists' embodied experiences when working with male clients who engage in disordered eating. Men are found to have different forms of disordered eating from women, with different health risks. Men are less likely to identify and disclose their disordered eating and less likely to receive services. It is problematic that assumptions about genders could replicate stereotypical roles and thereby propagate the social narratives that contribute to eating disorders. Aims This study aims to deepen our understanding of the role that cis‐men practitioners play in their clients' recovery. Materials and Methods Data were obtained through a written description of a clinical experience, provided by each participant and through online interviews. A conversational approach was employed, and transcribed interviews with six participants were analysed using the methodology of van Manen's Hermeneutic Phenomenology of Practice (van Manen, M. 2014. Phenomenology of Practice: Meaning‐Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing. Left Coast Press). Each transcript segment was labelled, organised and clustered to themes; then a cross‐participant analysis was carried out, revealing themes across all interviews. Results Three interconnected themes emerged: a ‘mutual experience of starvation between the cis‐male therapist and male client’, ‘what feels unbearable in the therapy room’ and ‘the connection established through their shared maleness’. Discussion While cis‐men therapists continue to feel pressure to control their bodies and remain in silent isolation, a potential is revealed for them to be a role model and advocate. Conclusion Cis‐men therapists can work with clients to share and accept their vulnerability and challenge unhelpful social narratives.