Men's Issues Support Groups in Oakland, CA

Therapeutic treatments and types are the same for men as they are for women, with the same protocols followed and the same strategies employed. Discussing one’s feelings and emotions is an integral part of most therapies, and some men find doing so more challenging. Therapists can help clients through the process; some specialize in treating men for this reason.

It’s helpful to express your concern and love for the person while framing therapy as a tool for improving their life. Offering specific examples of how an individual’s behavior affected either himself or others should be done with compassion and with empathy. It may be useful to devise a game plan—breaking the process down into parts, such as finding a therapist, making appointments, and looking into insurance coverage.

Men can prepare for therapy by approaching the process with an open mind, being willing to talk about their challenges, and giving treatment the time to work. Before a session, an individual may want to reflect on how they’ve felt since the last session and what’s happened in their lives. It can be useful for men who struggle to recall their emotional states to write down notes between sessions about their response to a given event or how they were feeling at a particular time.

One of the most common reasons men don’t seek therapy is the notion that there’s something wrong with them if they do. Men should know that just because they’re seeking therapy doesn’t mean they’re mentally ill or damaged in some way. In the same way people work on their bodies through exercise or a craft through practice, therapy can be a way to improve the mental and emotional skills needed to be productive and effective partners, employees, and people in all realms of life.