Unify Health

Frankly, I’m getting tired of the “men don’t talk” narrative.

It’s just not my experience. Particularly this year, it feels like I’ve spent many of my working hours walking with men into the darkest stories. They are raw, unfiltered and gut-wrenching. Stories of addiction, violence, despair, the fear of failure and the paralysing burden of secrets. What it’s like to be a terrified child. What it’s like to be s*xually assaulted when you don’t understand what s*x even is. What it’s like to be the victim of domestic violence. To hear how kind, smart men sometimes live with a seemingly insatiable desire to destroy themselves.

And no, it isn’t a ‘type’ of man. It’s the educated CEO who runs a multi-million dollar company, the straight-talking war veteran who finally conceded he lied to every therapist he ever spoke to, the man from one of the lowest socio-economic areas in Australia who has to fight to not be “one of them”, the man who has lived on a rural property for many decades who reckons horses are safer than humans. They’ve all sat on the couch and said things for the first time.

I fear that “men don’t talk” actually reinforces something that hasn’t been true for a while now. Well over 50% of my current clients are men. In my private practice this week, three men enquired about intensive couples therapy. Not dragged to therapy by their wives, but proactive and not wanting their children to grow up in broken homes. Men are talking.

I’m not against mental health awareness and I strongly support alternative methods of talking for men, but if “men don’t talk” is the entire rationale for yet another awareness campaign that changes nothing let’s not bother. Maybe the message could be “men are talking – what’s stopping you?” Avoidance doesn’t have a gender, it’s just avoidance.

Men are talking. We need skilled, tenacious and compassionate clinicians who can say “Come in. Have a seat. I’m ready to hear everything you need to say….everything”.

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Welcome to Nelinda, our new Provisional Psychologist at our Springfield clinic! Nelinda works predominantly with children and adolescents across a range of mental health difficulties and school concerns. Limited before and after school appointments on Mondays and Fridays still available. To book an appointment for your child, phone us on 3156 7799.

Unify Health is now offering Adult ADHD assessments in Springfield. Call our team on 3156 7799 for more information!

Call now to connect with business.

Read more about helping kids work with difficult emotions in this blog from child and adolescent mental health therapist Lauren Stockly.

"With scary and challenging topics consistently in the news, parents and caregivers need ways to explain current events that are developmentally appropriate for kids but honest enough to maintain their trust. This can be a delicate balance. Being proactive about these difficult conversations will prevent kids from seeking out information elsewhere and allow you to field their questions. Remember to check in with your child about their feelings and model healthy emotional expression."

Read more about helping kids work with difficult emotions in this blog from child and adolescent mental health therapist Lauren Stockly, LCSW (Bumble BLS). https://bit.ly/2YSjHC9

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Our thoughts are with the communities impacted by the recent flooding.

Visit Lifeline website for information about ways to cope and a list of national and state-based resources and services. For support, call any time - 24 hours, 7 days - on 13 11 14 to speak to someone about how you are feeling. Or text 0477 13 11 14.

Natural disaster "Remind yourself daily: This is what I do, this is what I love and this is what I'm proud of." Broken Hill Sheep Station owner, Brendan Cullen in Lifeline's Holding on to Hope podcast.