male friendly therapy

Male Friendly Therapy is an evidence based, effective approach to working with men therapeutically. It treats masculinity as a good thing; a positive, pro-social force in the world and a source of strength and wellbeing for men, families and communities. 

Men and boys. And women who want to understand the men and boys in their lives better.

Yes. They are biologically different to women with different minds, brains and bodies. Therefore they have different needs and issues through their life stages. If you are a man, sometimes it can be helpful to work with a male therapist who has had personal experience of your issues.

In the therapy world, political activism means that men are sometimes blamed for their problems or asked to 'change' their masculinity. Traditional masculinity has even been described as 'harmful' by the American Psychological Association. This contradicts basic therapeutic principles like empathy and non-judgment. 

It treats masculinity as aspirational and a valued aspect of humanity. It doesn't use negative terminology like 'toxic masculinity' or ideological concepts like 'hegemonic masculinity' and 'the patriarchy', which undermine therapy and have no evidence base. These guidelines from the British Psychological Society give more detail.

Male Psychology is a new field led by people like the British psychologists John Barry and Martin Seager that is attempting to understand and challenge our decades-long neglect of men's health. It is concerned with separating fact from fiction, for instance it takes an evolutionary view of masculinity rather than a Social Marxist or Feminist view that regards traditional masculine values of strength, protection and provision as oppressive. I wrote this paper with Martin Seager and Valerie Sinason in 2024 that attempts to describe an invisible aspect of male suffering.

Issues that affect men in a special way. The empathy gap — less empathy for men than women — contributes to men's issues in education, healthcare, criminal justice and families, where fatherlessness is rife.