Meet Division 51 Member: Dr. William Elder
When did you join Division 51? What made you interested in joining?
I joined Division 51 in 2004, as a senior in college. I was a Gender Studies and Psych double major and fascinated by the psychology of men and masculinities. I didn't realize there was an APA division devoted to the study, and there were no faculty at my university with that particular interest. One day I was in the library, looking for books for a paper, when I stumbled upon The New Handbook of Psychotherapy and Counseling with Men (published in 2001 by Brooks and Good). I sat on the floor in amazement. I realized there were psychologists across the country who were creating research and training clinicians to understand how male-identified people could be best served in therapy. The book guided me to the Division, and it informed where I decided to apply to graduate school. I now have those books in my home office as a reminder of how I found my way.
What do you find most valuable about being a member of the division?
I most value the relationships I've found within the division. Members have been kind, helpful, and inspired me with new ideas. I have found mentors and peers that have been my team--not only in research, but in clinical development, and professional steps. There are so many brilliant people, with no formal responsibility to help me, who simply have been generous with their time when I've asked for help. For example, Jim O'Neil helped me design my senior thesis in college; Gary Brooks was my graduate school advisor and guided me through my masters and doctoral dissertations; Will Liu has led conversations that challenge the way I think about intersectional masculinities; Michael Addis has a brilliant mind for considering context, power, and masculinities; Andrew Smiler helped me understand how to measure masculinities; Holly Sweet taught me about masculinities and self-compassion. The list goes on and on. Get involved and connect with these people!
What are your clinical, teaching, research, or other applied interests relating to the psychology of men and masculinity?
Research-wise, I am primarily a grounded theory (qualitative) researcher and am fascinated by the impact of power systems on mental health. I've published studies about sexual minority masculinities, as well as masculinities and trauma. I'm grateful to be on the board of the Division 51 journal, Psychology of Men and Masculinities.
In my clinical work, I'm a psychologist in the PTSD Clinical Team at the South Texas VA, where I primarily serve men from non-dominant racial and ethnic identities with a history of interpersonal trauma. I'm also on the Training Committee and supervise interns and post-docs with interest in intersectionality and trauma treatment.