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An opportunity to continue destigmatizing help-seeking among men.

Data shows that ignoring and stigmatizing men's mental health can have dire consequences.

Taking men's mental health seriously ensures that men get the help they need without feeling weak or shameful.

This is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and though I would argue that men’s mental health is worthy of the spotlight every month, I can see the necessity of devoting a month to this topic. In my decade as a practicing psychotherapist, my caseload has become ever more predominantly male—this is not by design, so much as by what I believe to be the facts that for many men, shared lived experience is important and that stigma around male mental health is decreasing (one can hope). This is not to suggest that male therapists are more adept at working with male clients than are females; it simply reflects my experience as a male clinician. Here are some key observations from working with a predominantly male clientele.

1. Openness Must Be Normalized

Men’s mental health is often termed a “silent epidemic.” The devastating statistics bear this out: men are almost four times as likely to die by suicide as women, and a recent survey revealed that 49 percent of men felt more depressed than they admitted to the people in their lives (Anon, 2024). It is vital to normalize openness, vulnerability, and help-seeking among men. Only by making it acceptable to talk about male mental health, to share our challenges, and to destigmatize struggling can we ensure that men continue to fight the old archetype of the stoic male who does not burden others with........

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