Jack told me that his daughter complained that he looked sad. Jack had no awareness of it. His homework was to ask everyone in the family to let him know every time they noticed him looking sad. He was to tell them that it was an assignment from his therapist. He understood the rationale: you need feedback to improve your performance. He liked the clarity of the task. Dr. Wexler, author of Men in Therapy, says that men get anxious about the vagueness of therapy and appreciate concrete explanations and homework. I’m good at working with men because, not only do I give them homework, I also use humor and help them identify which habits they have that work for them and which ones they want to change.