Men’s Health Week: Q&A with Dr Zac Seidler

My research focus has largely been around men’s experiences in therapy and how mental health services and systems can be restructured to better meet the needs of men. We found that time and again men often found counselling services weren’t meeting their needs (they weren’t feeling heard and also didn’t feel as though these services were ‘male friendly’). We also conducted research among clinicians who work with men, and many reported significant challenges working with men (particularly more traditionally-masculine identifying men) – many of these challenges related to adapting interventions to work with rather than against masculinity, and effectively identify and intervene in men’s suicidality. Putting all this together, and also recognising there was no accessible training out there for clinicians to help them understand masculinity and work more effectively with men, we developed Men in Mind as a world-first online training program focused on helping mental health practitioners engage and respond to men in therapy.

I’m a firm believer in not reinventing the wheel! That’s why Men in Mind mainly focuses on helping practitioners to pay more attention to their microskills in therapy – that is, the early stages that might seem trivial but can have a huge impact on helping men feel appropriately oriented to and engaged in therapy. Many men’s gender socialisation instils within them the belief that in seeking help they are somehow giving up or showing weakness – but in Men in Mind, we encourage practitioners to focus on amplifying men’s strengths in seeking help and use these strengths in their interventions with men. We also include content around the interactions between masculinity and men’s depression and suicide risk, so practitioners can hopefully feel equipped to better identify and intervene in men’s distress in a way that leverages masculinity to everybody’s advantage.

I think the main way I’ve done this is to try and do away with any expectations and biases around 'the way men are' that might influence the way I approach my clients. For example, rather than assuming men want practical tips and solution-focused therapy because 'men are practical' – I try to be prepared to meet men on their level. If they want practical problem solving, I’m ready for that. But on the other hand, if they just want to talk and feel heard, I’m also prepared to do that in a way that validates their experiences while acknowledging that masculine ideals undoubtedly makes many men feel uncomfortable with simply wanting to talk!

Much of our research has shown that men’s distress and suicidality often looks a little different than our typical diagnostic models assume. So I think being prepared for men’s depression to be represented by anger and irritability instead of crying and withdrawal; being prepared to keep an eye out for subtle warning signs for suicide in men that might be missed otherwise would be hugely beneficial.