A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree in Master of Health Science (Psychotherapy) at Auckland University of Technology

This master's thesis reports the findings of a qualitative research study examining five men's lived experiences of violence and violation. Data was derived from taped and transcribed conversations with the men and these were in turn categorised into key existential themes for interpretation. The interpretive methodology employed was based upon Martin Heidegger's (1927/1962) hermeneutic phenomenology. This approach emphasises the search for raw experience buried in the text and takes the researcher to the heart of men's lived reality of violence. The author argues that hermeneutics offers a way of making meaning out of the subtext concealed within men's stories of violence and that Heidegger's philosophy offers a particular approach for understanding human experience. The author further argues that Van Manen's (1990) existential life-world structures provide a guide towards violence as it is lived rather than as it is thought to be. As such this study emphasises ontological understanding over epistemological examination. The author's intention is to produce an understanding of the impact of violence on people's lives from the unique perspective of those who have experienced it. The author's ultimate goal is to use this information to better understand the aetiology of male violence, and, more specifically, five men whose lives have been situated in the world of violence, so that it may be more effectively prevented. Source: Author's abstract

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