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Thompson, Michael (2022) British men’s subjective experiences of seeking help for mild to moderate depression: a phenomenological approach to understanding men’s mental health help-seeking behaviour. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
Background/Aims: There is growing recognition that men’s mental health deserves attention. British men are reported to underutilise mental health services and are reluctant to seek help. Previous research into men’s help-seeking behaviour for mental health difficulties has tended to favour quantitative studies on intentions to seek help and lacked the subjective voices of men who have reached out for help from a GP or mental health professional. This research aims to contribute towards the knowledge around men’s help-seeking behaviour for depression through exploring the experiences of British men who have reached out for professional help for depression.
Methodology & method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven British men in order to explore their experiences of reaching out for help for mild to moderate depression. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the verbatim transcripts of the 7 interviews.
Findings: Three superordinate themes emerged: ‘Adrift on a dark and lonely sea’ consisting of the men’s accounts of their depression, a sense of loss of agency and sense of an impending catastrophe; ‘The journey back to shore’ incorporating the decision to reach out for help, a sense of regaining control, and the conflicting emotions experienced when reaching out; and also ‘The presence of the past’ representing the mediating roles of previous contact with health care professionals, core beliefs developed from past experiences, and the fear of re-experiencing painful emotions.
Discussion: Findings suggest that some men may go through a similar process of waiting until an existential threat is perceived, then re-framing seeking help as something acceptable to engage in, before experiencing conflicting emotions about contacting a GP or mental health service for help. Permeating this process throughout is the influence of past experiences and memories. It is suggested that Counselling psychologists, and mental health clinicians in general, validate and respond to the distress of men, advertise and promote their services in a way that directly attunes to men’s specific needs, and convey an understanding of men’s journey into therapy. Evaluation of the present study is followed by recommendations for future research.
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