With only 36% of NHS therapy referrals requested by men and 40% refusing to talk about mental health; it is no wonder the alarming concern.
Andy’s Man Club is a charity formed in Halifax in 2016 by Elaine Roberts after her son, Andrew Roberts took his own life.
The charity now has 100 free support groups nationwide running every Monday at 7pm. These are run by over 500 volunteers to reduce stigma and clinical approach surrounding men’s mental health.
Andy Callender is a volunteer for the Portsmouth group, meeting at MAKE Community Hub, Fratton. He has been involved with the charity since August 2022, starting as ‘just another person walking through the door’ looking to relieve stress. Now he volunteers to help people who are in the same position as him when he was attending the group.
The sessions are based on five questions, three are the same each week and two are questions that change weekly to lift the mood.
These are two examples of questions asked:
‘What is your name? And what is a positive reason for being here?’
‘Name one person who has had a positive impact on you this year and why?’
Andy explained men feel they ‘are always told to man up, boys don’t cry, men are meant to be the breadwinners and the one people look to for guidance’. If men that are willing to talk about their mental health feel this way, how can we know how the ones who are too apprehensive to talk feel?
When asked how to reduce stigma around this Andy believes ‘understanding that men are people too with emotions; the same problems women face, men face too’.
Being seen as equals is a huge step toward reducing the fear to talk.
