New research shows improved self-reported ability of mental health practitioners to respond to men’s mental health
A randomized wait-list controlled trial of Men in Mind: Enhancing mental health practitioners’ self-rated clinical competencies to work with men
by Seidler, Z. E., Wilson, M. J., Benakovic, R., Mackinnon, A., Oliffe, J. L., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Kealy, D., Owen, J., Pirkis, J., Mihalopoulos, C., Le, L. K.-D., & Rice, S. M. (2023)
Published 27 November 2023
What's the issue?
Men are recognised as a priority population in Australia with approximately 75% of suicides in Australia being males.
Evidence suggests that there are increasing numbers of males seeking support for mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviours through therapy with mental health practitioners.
A number of barriers that may impact the ability for mental health practitioners to identify signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in males, or provide support that is suitable for males.
Examples of these barriers include female practitioners finding it challenging to connect with male clients, and male clients having difficulty to open up and share their experiences and emotions with practitioners. Males are also more likely to seek professional help when they are nearing crisis, rather than at the first signs of struggle as an early intervention approach.
Practitioners may have difficulty in responding appropriately to men experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviours, with many mental health practitioners not possessing specialised skills to respond to this.
Previous studies have shown the benefit of specialised suicide prevention training for practitioners, but more research was recommended to evaluate the benefit of male-specific suicide prevention training.
This study aimed to determine the benefit of male specific training, titled Men in Mind to improve clinical competencies of practitioners to respond to male clients in therapy which included identifying male-specific warning signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
Men in Mind was developed to be an accessible and effective training program for mental health practitioners who work with male clients.
What was done?
Researchers aimed to examine whether the Men in Mind program improved practitioners’ self-rated clinical competencies to engage and respond to suicidal thoughts and behaviours in male clients in therapy sessions.
The study was a single-blind randomised control trial, with two parallel groups: one group received the Men in Mind training at the first stage of the study, and the second group received the Men in Mind training in the second phase. The second group was a ‘waitlist group’ and was used as a control.
The study was undertaken between 16 January and 17 March 2022, and included 587 participants. Participants were Australian-based mental health practitioners, currently administering psychotherapy to males, fluent in English, and not currently completing their undergraduate degree. A ‘mental health practitioner’ was defined as a practicing client-facing mental health professional who currently delivers psychotherapy in their role (e.g. psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers). No exclusion criteria were set in regard to years of experience or the specific type of therapy that they provided.
The study participants undertook the self-paced Men in Mind training program over a six-week period. There were three data collection points: at baseline, at the end of the six weeks, and again at a six-week post-training for both randomised groups. Practitioners were assessed against the EMITS (Engaging Men in Therapy Scale) tool which was developed specifically for measuring practitioners’ self-reported competencies for engaging male clients in psychotherapy.
What was found?
Results of the study found that practitioners who undertook the Men in Mind training program significantly increased their Engaging Men in Therapy Scale (EMITS) scores from baseline to primary endpoint, compared to the waitlist control group, and the increased score was retained at follow-up. It was found that practitioner age, years of experience, and profession did not influence the primary outcome, lending support to the utility of Men in Mind for a diverse range of mental health practitioners.
Why are findings important?
Men in Mind was effective at increasing mental health practitioners’ self-reported efficacy to work with men experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
Australia’s mental health workforce is predominately women. Training programs like Men in Mind can increase both female and male practitioner’s ability to connect with men in therapy and provide them with the skills to support men.