Using public spaces for male community mental health support

Mental health services have traditionally found men a difficult group to reach. Many men are reluctant to seek help when their mental health declines, often feeling stigmatized and responsible for their symptoms. Most men view conventional mental health support as feminized and unhelpful, preferring the company of other men to help support their mental wellbeing. This research used focus group methods to explore the experiences of 24 men who attended four different nonclinical community based mental health support services held in public spaces. The spaces described in the study were a public house, a football stadium, a sports center and village hall. Our findings demonstrate the importance of offering a range of male community spaces with welcoming environments where men can encounter positive masculine role models. These types of environments encourage men to challenge their own attitudes and behaviors around help seeking and mental wellbeing. We suggested the following areas for policy development; referral pathways; male friendly mental health spaces; and multi-tiered group support and digital peer support platforms.