Why should you seek support with me if you are a man? Because I want to help you look at the following issues specific to your experience as a man:

(in addition to concerns you know you want to focus on)

Support you in identifying and exploring what it means to you to be a man

I want to help you better understand what your gender identity means to you in terms of how it forms your world view.  There are so many factors that can influence how you view yourself as a man, including: cultural influences, religious and spiritual influences, expectations regarding gender roles in your family of origin, communication amongst friends of how one is supposed to carry themselves as a man, expectations of how you are a man in your romantic relationship, and factors such as your sexual orientation and if you were born a cisgender male or if you identify as male, regardless of your sex assigned at birth.

Most importantly, whether you recognize it or not – there are expectations you have of yourself because you are a man.

Examine and explore together how the ways men were socialized growing impacts our comfort with expressing emotions and being vulnerable

Masculinity is changing over time but there are many lingering tenants of how masculinity is traditionally defined.  Some of these below questions may resonate with you:

-How expressive of emotions were men in your family of origin growing up?  How about for non family of origin people who are still considered family?

-What does vulnerability look like amongst men in your family?  How about amongst your friends?

-How vulnerable are you allowed to be in your romantic relationships?

-What is the primary emotion or feeling you are comfortable expressing and sharing with others?

-What emotion or feeling do you most struggle in expressing and sharing with others?

-Have you ever had an experience or multiple experiences where you were judged for expressing sadness or anger?

Explore your current understanding of your emotional intelligence and assist you in identifying ways we can further build up your emotional intelligence

As you consider entering a therapy relationship, take a moment and think about the importance you place on having emotional intelligence.  Consider some of these questions about emotional intelligence that we could further explore together in therapy:

What does it mean to be a man to be emotionally intelligent? 

What are some of my strengths when it comes to emotional intelligence? 

What are some of my deficiencies when it comes to emotional intelligence?

What could I stand to gain if I focus on becoming more emotionally intelligent – including in my relationship with self and with others?

What are some ways that expanding my emotional intelligence could put me at risk of being hurt by others?

Examine the concept of toxic masculinity and how that may impact some beliefs about self and how you interact with others

As you consider entering a therapy relationship, think about how you would define toxic masculinity.  This may be painful, but think about times that toxic masculinity has negatively impacted your life.

These are some aspects of toxic masculinity we can explore together in session:

-Further defining what toxic masculinity is and what ways that masculinity can feel more healthy and add to the quality of your life.

-What relationships in my life (family, friends, romantic) have been influenced by toxic masculinity?

-Do I ascribe to or buy into any aspects of toxic masculinity?

-Have I ever acted negatively toward someone else because of an aspect of toxic masculinity that I have imposed upon myself?

-What are some beliefs and expectations about myself as a man?  Are any of those beliefs or expectations influenced by toxic masculinity?

Provide psychoeducation on how men have more specific reactions to emotions and mental health (ex. shutting down) and how to help men more quickly identify what type of reaction they are having; gradually helping men develop greater mastery and control of their emotional reactions

Let’s explore these concepts together!  Two men working together to talk about these important concepts, so that we can help you experience real changes in your life.  I take your mental health journey seriously and I want to provide you as many tools as I can.  I want you to feel good about yourself and your status as a man!

Thank you for putting your trust in me.  I look forward to hearing from you!