Effective Forms of Treatment for Men in Distress
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Authors
Rietveld, Daniel
Issue Date
2025-02-08
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
effective treatment , hegemonic masculinity , help-seeking behaviors , male distress , mental health support
Alternative Title
Abstract
This capstone project explores the pervasive issue of male distress, its manifestations, and the barriers men face in seeking mental health support. Despite being four times more likely to die by suicide than women, men often underreport mental health struggles due to societal stigma and traditional masculine norms that value stoicism and self-reliance. Here, I provide a literature review that explores men's experiences of distress and identifies effective interventions tailored to male experiences. I hope to find interventions that can be offered to men that will help. Our review included cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), online platforms, group therapy, and community-based approaches. These interventions all emphasize practical, action-oriented solutions, peer support, and the normalization of vulnerability. While all of them help relieve men’s distress to one degree or another, our focus on developing a broad-scale approach to reach as many men as possible leads us to adopt a community-based group therapy approach that can be scaled throughout neighborhoods in the author’s home city of Edmonton, Alberta. Building on Edmonton’s unique neighbourhood structure and strong community league system, we propose implementing neighbourhood men’s groups to address male distress at a grassroots level. Supported by organizations like the Alberta Men's Collaborative and Edmonton’s Service Innovation and Performance branch, the initiative envisions a city-wide model that creates healing and hope for men, their families, and the city. While challenges such as stigma and engagement remain, Edmonton’s neighbourhood-focused framework offers hope and feasibility for transforming the city into a "city of brotherly love."
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Citation
Publisher
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess