Therapeutic Men’s Group Work

Men have always learned from other men. Mature empathic and empowering behaviours can be learned in groups of men, just as immature, negative habits are. A conscious, considered, and facilitated therapeutic Men’s Work setting can enable participants to co-create their own new vision for what it is to be a Man in the modern era. Men’s Groups importantly address four key areas for men: isolation and loneliness, relationships, visions of masculinity, and absent fathers.

Isolation

A recent piece of research by Kings College reported that “severely isolated older men were no more likely to record a score of lonely than the rest of the men in the dataset, but severely isolated older women were over 700% more likely to record a score of lonely. Research indicates that men's loneliness has a significant impact on their mental and physical health, with loneliness being linked to increased risks of depression, cardiovascular disease, and even death. Groups mitigate habitual male tendencies towards isolation and loneliness.

Relationships

Women tend to report experiencing and expressing a wider range of emotions more frequently than men. Research suggests that women tend to be more emotionally mature in their relationships, demonstrating better relationship adjustment and psychological well-being. Facilitated men's groups can be a change-engine for men in intimate relationships. Men learn to listen in group settings. They also learn to be with their own feelings in a structured communal setting.

Masculinity

Studies indicate that a negative view of masculinity is linked to poorer mental wellbeing in men. Facilitated men's groups are ideally suited to young men who are searching for a different experience of masculinity than the 'toxicity' that the media puts out. Supported by Therapeutic Men’s Work, men can challenge patterns of dominant or defensive masculinity to become a force for social change in their own communities.

Absent Fathers

Research in the UK consistently shows that a father's absence can have negative impacts on children, particularly in relation to their mental health, behaviour, and development. Many males grow up with inadequate contact from their fathers and this affects their own masculinity, building in a sense of distance. What men missed in their own fathers they may find in other men; they may then be able to ‘re-programme’ their internal lack through contact with other men in groups.