One can not argue, that even when our society appears to encourage men to talk about their feelings, some men are still less likely then women to talk through their emotions and simply vent for the sake of venting. Surely these individuals discharge their frustrations, but the subject of such heightened emotional discharge is often channeled into safe, neutral, and culturally-approved subjects such as the performance of sports teams, politics, musical preferences, competitive exercise and of course, humor. Such sublimation is not a bad thing for even Freud would argue that any type of safe emotional discharge can be cathartic for the soul.
However, when arguing politics or fighting it out on a court is not sufficient, how can something as overtly "touchy-feely" as psychotherapy be made more appealing to these folks?
A campaign in Colorado is using the concept of humor to reach men between the ages of 25 and 64 by creating a website where a fictional humorous therapist, "Dr. Rich Mahogany, an affable, mustachioed, middle-aged man whose personality might be described as Dr. Phil meets Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell’s fictional anchorman", administers a questionnaire that assesses the respondents mental state in hopes of preventing suicide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/business/media/a-humorous-approach-to-grim-issue-of-suicide-prevention.html
While this is a somewhat unorthodox approach to suicide prevention, reaching even one individual who would otherwise not receive any services is a huge success!
Similarly, I often find that humor in general can be such a great conduit to moments of great insight, particularly those moments where one is able to recognize the absurdity of one's behavior, the origins of which may have so little to do with objective reality. Perhaps there is something to the old adage, that laughter is the best medicine, so go ahead, laugh yourself to mental health!
However, when arguing politics or fighting it out on a court is not sufficient, how can something as overtly "touchy-feely" as psychotherapy be made more appealing to these folks?
A campaign in Colorado is using the concept of humor to reach men between the ages of 25 and 64 by creating a website where a fictional humorous therapist, "Dr. Rich Mahogany, an affable, mustachioed, middle-aged man whose personality might be described as Dr. Phil meets Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell’s fictional anchorman", administers a questionnaire that assesses the respondents mental state in hopes of preventing suicide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/business/media/a-humorous-approach-to-grim-issue-of-suicide-prevention.html
While this is a somewhat unorthodox approach to suicide prevention, reaching even one individual who would otherwise not receive any services is a huge success!
Similarly, I often find that humor in general can be such a great conduit to moments of great insight, particularly those moments where one is able to recognize the absurdity of one's behavior, the origins of which may have so little to do with objective reality. Perhaps there is something to the old adage, that laughter is the best medicine, so go ahead, laugh yourself to mental health!
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