Movember to pilot new training program for mental health professionals
Dr Zac Seidler engaging a male client
Movember has developed an online training course for therapists in an effort to ensure all men and boys who reach out for mental health support get the best possible treatment.
Men in Mind has been designed to help therapists, counsellors and other mental health professionals better engage with their male clients, with the ultimate goal of reducing the growing suicide rate in Australian men.
While research has shown an increase in the number of Australian men seeking professional mental health support*, the number of men who take their own lives has continued to rise.
Over the last 10 years, the male suicide rate has climbed from 1,914 in 2010 to 2,502 in 2019, according to ABS statistics**.
The 5-7-hour training course aims to upskill and increase therapists’ confidence when working with men and boys. The hope is that this will lead to more effective, engaging treatment plans for men.
Through the online program, therapists can watch videos of difficult real-life situations that mental health professionals commonly experience with male clients. These videos allow therapists to observe best practice in providing male-friendly therapy, so they can learn by observation and through practicing responses.
The course was developed by a team of subject matter experts led by clinical psychologist and Movember’s Director for Mental Health Training Dr Zac Seidler.
Zac spent five years researching the gap between what mental health professionals are offering and what men seeking mental health support need.
He sees the launch of this research pilot as a positive step towards delivering more effective mental health treatments for men.
“It’s promising to see more men and boys accessing mental health services, but that trend alone isn’t stemming the rate of male suicides,” he explains.
“Through the pilot launch of Men in Mind, we’re hoping to give mental health professionals the skills to better connect with and understand male clients who tend to come in all shapes and sizes.
“This program isn’t about overhauling clinical practice. It’s about helping therapists identify simple and effective ways that they can adapt their ways of working to stop men slipping through the cracks.”
Zac and his team will use the findings of the initial pilot launch of the training to fine-tune the course. Once fully developed, Movember will look to roll the training out in other countries around the globe.
Ground-breaking projects like Men in Mind are only possible thanks of the generosity of Movember fundraisers, donors and partners.
---
* Harris, M., Diminic, S., Reavley, N., Baxter, A., Pirkis, J. and Whiteford, H., 2015. Males’ mental health disadvantage: An estimation of gender-specific changes in service utilisation for mental and substance use disorders in Australia. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(9).
** Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021. Causes of Death, Australia, 2019. Available at: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release.
