Men and Emotional Wellbeing A Psychologist’s View

1. Men and Emotional Wellbeing A Psychologist’s View Dr Ewan Gillon Senior Lecturer - Glasgow Caledonian University Director - Therapy for Men/Edinburgh Psychology Centre

2. 10 key tasks for change Masculinity 1. De-humanising male socialisation and gender role expectations require respectful but critical challenge 2. Masculinity must be presented as multi-dimensional, not in oppositional terms to femininity 3. Seeking help re-formulated in range of ‘masculine’ terms

3. 10 key tasks (cont.) Men’s emotional health 4. Male specific definitions and conceptualisations of emotional distress must be further developed and promoted 5. Psychological trauma (arising from male socialisation/practices) must be recognised as an underlying factor in many men’s experiencing/behaviour

4. 10 key tasks (cont.) Helping men 6. Male specific protocols and therapeutic approaches require further elaboration and development 7. Alexithemia (lack of accurate connection to emotional experiencing) must be recognised as a common and significant difficulty for men in engaging with psychological help 8. Feminised terms, concepts and structures of mental health provision must change

5. 10 key tasks (cont.) Training 9. Training for mental health workers (particularly in relationship-based roles) must be made more accessible to men. 10.Working with men and masculinity must be embedded in all mental health trainings.