Jed Thorpe, CMHC

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how conversations around men’s mental health have become as oversimplified (not unlike my article picture drawing above 🤣). For reals though, a lot of the conversation seems to boil down to, “men just need to open up more.” And sure, sometimes that’s true. But speaking for myself, talking about things more isn’t always the complete answer either. So from a man’s perspective, I wanted to share a little nuance around why I think a lot of men are struggling...

There’s a strange paradox in this field. You can sit with people all day. Hear their stories. Hold space for their pain. …and still feel pretty alone. The Part No One Mentions After a while, therapy can be an isolating profession. You’re in a room (or on a screen), one-on-one, for most of your day. There’s no real “coworker banter.” No team huddle. No shared decompression. Now layer in being a male therapist in a field that’s largely female. And it changes the whole experience. Not better....

“Sorry.” It’s one of the most commonly used words in modern conversation. Someone bumps into us in the grocery store - sorry. Someone passes the salt - sorry. Someone holds the door - sorry. At some point, the word started drifting into territory where it doesn’t belong. It’s almost like sorry has been grouped together with thank you and you’re welcome as a sort of conversational filler. But an apology isn’t supposed to be conversational filler. An apology is something much more specific....