It’s Not About “Freudian Couches and Personality Changing Drugs”: An Investigation Into Men’s Mental Health Help-Seeking Enablers
Open accessAbstract
Enabling factors that influenced men to seek assistance for mental health concerns--a previous underresearched area--was the primary focus of this research. Past research spanning four decades has focused on men's barriers to mental health help-seeking with limited research positing social norms within men's peer groups and reciprocity as potential mental health help-seeking enablers. Using a qualitative design, nine men were interviewed to identify the positive factors they believed assisted their help-seeking decisions. Social norms, reciprocity, a significant other, and helpfulness of their general practitioner were domains identified in the analysis of participant narratives. The study revealed the participants' mental health and treatment illiteracy. Ignorance and misplaced stereotypes, initially acted as barriers to help-seeking, leading to denial of illness, impeding treatment, and perpetuating stigma. Sportsmen disclosing their mental health issues were identified as a positive influence for other men's help-seeking and assisted in the development of help-seeking as a social norm. The results of this study contribute to understanding the factors that enable men to seek mental health help.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Men consulted a GP prior to counseling, which led to both negative and positive experiences.
“These findings suggest that men consulted a GP prior to counseling, which led to both negative and positive experiences.”
From Masculinity and Help-Seeking Among Men With Depression: A Qualitative Study (2020) · cites this paper as [8]
Cites
Lincoln, Y. S., Guba, E. G., & Pilotta, J. J. (1985) · International Journal of Intercultural Relations · doi:10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8 · Cited by 45,787 · see citing works
Qualitative research practice: a guide for social science students and researchers
Ruhl, K. (2003) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.41-1319 · Cited by 10,514 · see citing works
The Journal of Family Practice
Geyman, J. P. (1997) · American Journal of Family Therapy · doi:10.1080/01926189708251066 · Cited by 3,088 · see citing works
Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking
Addis, M. E., & Mahalik, J. R. (2003) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.58.1.5 · Cited by 2,761 · see citing works
(1984) · PubMed · Cited by 2,436 · see citing works
Journal of Individual Psychology
Meredith, C. W., & Evans, T. D. (1989) · Cited by 2,383 · see citing works
Men and health help‐seeking behaviour: literature review
Galdas, P. M., Cheater, F., & Marshall, P. (2005) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03331.x · Cited by 1,739 · see citing works
Qualitative Analysis: Practice and Innovation
Ezzy, D. (2002) · eCite Digital Repository (University of Tasmania) · Cited by 1,728 · see citing works
Orientations to seeking professional help: development and research utility of an attitude scale
Fischer, E. H., & Turner, J. I. (1970) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0029636 · Cited by 973 · see citing works
Möller-Leimkühler, A. M. (2002) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/s0165-0327(01)00379-2 · Cited by 851 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Men’s help-seeking behaviors appear to have not changed discernibly in 40 years with many perceived barriers are still encountered by men (Möller-Leimkühler, 2002).”
BackgroundInfluentialMasculinity and perceived normative health behaviors as predictors of men's health behaviors
Mahalik, J. R., Burns, S. M., & Syzdek, M. (2007) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.035 · Cited by 675 · see citing works
Vogel, D. L., Heimerdinger-Edwards, S. R., Hammer, J. H., & Hubbard, A. (2011) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0023688 · Cited by 551 · see citing works
Murray, J. (2010) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9780470684214.ch7 · Cited by 531 · see citing works
(2020) · doi:10.36648/1791-809x · Cited by 424 · see citing works
Seeking help from a mental health professional: The influence of one's social network
Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., Wester, S. R., Larson, L., & Hackler, A. H. (2007) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.20345 · Cited by 414 · see citing works
Avoidance of Counseling: Psychological Factors That Inhibit Seeking Help
Vogel, D. L., Wester, S. R., & Larson, L. M. (2007) · Journal of Counseling & Development · doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2007.tb00609.x · Cited by 325 · see citing works
Male role and gender role conflict: Relations to help seeking in men.
Good, G. E., Dell, D. M., & Mintz, L. B. (1989) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0167.36.3.295 · Cited by 309 · see citing works
Wrigley, S., Jackson, H. J., Judd, F. K., & Komiti, A. (2005) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2005.01612.x · Cited by 298 · see citing works
What do we know about men's help‐seeking and health service use?
Smith, J. A., Braunack‐Mayer, A., & Wittert, G. (2006) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00124.x · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Seymour‐Smith, S., Wetherell, M. S., & Phoenix, A. (2002) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105302007003220 · Cited by 274 · see citing works
Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., & Ascheman, P. L. (2009) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0014903 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
The internet as a setting for mental health service utilisation by young people
Burns, J. M., Davenport, T. A., Durkin, L. A., Luscombe, G. M., & Hickie, I. B. (2010) · Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03688.x · Cited by 257 · see citing works
Male role and gender role conflict: Relations to help seeking in men.
Good, G. E., Dell, D. M., & Mintz, L. B. (1989) · Journal of Counseling Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-0167.36.3.295 · Cited by 246 · see citing works
Measurement of Men's Help Seeking: Development and Evaluation of the Barriers to Help Seeking Scale.
Mansfield, A. K., Addis, M. E., & Courtenay, W. (2005) · Psychology of Men & Masculinity · doi:10.1037/1524-9220.6.2.95 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
"Why Won't He Go to the Doctor?": The Psychology of Men's Help Seeking
Mansfield, A. K., Addis, M. E., & Mahalik, J. R. (2003) · International Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.3149/jmh.0202.93 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Dowsett, G. D. (1996) · Stanford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781503616165 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
The influence of women on the health care-seeking behavior of men.
Norcross, W. A., Ramirez, C., & Palinkas, L. A. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Lohan, M. (2007) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.04.020 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Sarantakos, S. (1993) · doi:10.1007/978-1-349-13387-1 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Barriers to the Effective Management of Depression in General Practice
Richards, J. C., Richards, J. C., Ryan, P., McCabe, M. P., Groom, G., & Hickie, I. B. (2004) · Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/j.1440-1614.2004.01464.x · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Perceived helpfulness of websites for mental health information
Oh, E., Jorm, A. F., & Wright, A. (2008) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-008-0443-9 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Who Influence Men to Go to Therapy? Reports from Men Attending Psychological Services
Cusack, J., Deane, F. P., Wilson, C. J., & Ciarrochi, J. (2004) · International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling · doi:10.1023/b:adco.0000035530.44111.a8 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Fredheim, T., Danbolt, L. J., Haavet, O. R., Kjønsberg, K., & Lien, L. (2011) · International Journal of Mental Health Systems · doi:10.1186/1752-4458-5-13 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Predictors of men's health care utilization.
Boman, E. K. O., & Walker, G. A. (2010) · Psychology of Men & Masculinity · doi:10.1037/a0018461 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Has the Health System Failed Men? The Perceptions of the Men's Movement on Men's Health in Australia
Karoski, S. (2011) · International Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.3149/jmh.1001.45 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Troubled Men and Threatening Women: The Construction of `Crisis' in Male Mental Health
Coyle, A., & Morgan-Sykes, C. (1998) · Feminism & Psychology · doi:10.1177/0959353598083003 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Hausner, H. H., Hajak, G., & Spießl, H. (2008) · Gender Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.genm.2008.05.008 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
McKelley, R. A. (2007) · The journal of individual psychology · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Manning up for men's mental illness.
Ogrodniczuk, J. S., & Oliffe, J. L. (2010) · PubMed · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Physicians’ views on men's mental health and the role of counselling services – a pilot study
Smith, J. M., Robertson, S., & Houghton, B. (2006) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/14733140601029241 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The mental health of men and boys: an overview
Peate, I. (2010) · British Journal of Nursing · doi:10.12968/bjon.2010.19.19.79295 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Big boys really don’t cry: Considering men’s reluctance to engage in counselling
White, A. (2009) · Counselling Psychology Review · doi:10.53841/bpscpr.2009.24.3-4.2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kantor, V., Knefel, M., & Lueger-Schuster, B. (2017) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2016.12.001 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
Gender and Attitudes about Mental Health Help Seeking: Results from National Data
Wendt, D. M., & Shafer, K. M. (2015) · Health & Social Work · doi:10.1093/hsw/hlv089 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Men’s Mental Health Services: The Case for a Masculinities Model
Seidler, Z., Rice, S., River, J., Oliffe, J., & Dhillon, H. (2018) · The Journal of Men s Studies · doi:10.1177/1060826517729406 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Men’s Experiences of Mental Illness Stigma Across the Lifespan: A Scoping Review
McKenzie, S., Oliffe, J. L., Black, A., & Collings, S. C. (2022) · American Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.1177/15579883221074789 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Masculinity and Help-Seeking Among Men With Depression: A Qualitative Study
Staiger, T., Stiawa, M., Mueller-Stierlin, A. S., Kilian, R., Beschoner, P., Gündel, H., Becker, T., Frasch, K., Panzirsch, M., Schmauß, M., et al. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.599039 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Vella, S. A., Swann, C., Batterham, M. J., Boydell, K., Eckermann, S. D., Fogarty, A. S., Hurley, D., Liddle, S. K., Lonsdale, C., Miller, A., et al. (2018) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5319-7 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Men's views on depression: A systematic review and metasynthesis of qualitative research
Krumm, S., Checchia, C., Koesters, M., Kilian, R., & Becker, T. (2017) · Psychopathology · doi:10.1159/000455256 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Men In and Out of Treatment for Depression: Strategies for Improved Engagement
Seidler, Z. E., Rice, S. M., Oliffe, J. L., Fogarty, A. S., & Dhillon, H. M. (2018) · Australian Psychologist · doi:10.1111/ap.12331 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Rice, S., Aucote, H. M., Parker, A. G., Álvarez‐Jiménez, M., Filia, K., & Amminger, G. P. (2015) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105315605655 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Clark, L. H., Hudson, J. L., Rapee, R. M., & Grasby, K. L. (2020) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102292 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Addressing mental health through sport: a review of sporting organizations' websites
Liddle, S. K., Deane, F. P., & Vella, S. A. (2016) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/eip.12337 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Predicting help-seeking behavior: The impact of knowing someone close who has sought help
Disabato, D. J., Short, J. L., Lameira, D. M., Bagley, K., & Wong, S. J. (2018) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2018.1440568 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Heisel, M. J., Moore, S. L., Flett, G. L., Norman, R. M. G., Links, P. S., Eynan, R., O’Rourke, N., Sarma, S., Fairlie, P. C., Wilson, K., et al. (2019) · Clinical Gerontologist · doi:10.1080/07317115.2019.1666443 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Coates, D., Saleeba, C., & Howe, D. J. (2018) · Community Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10597-018-0270-8 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Roche, E., Richardson, N., Sweeney, J., & O’Donnell, S. (2024) · American Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.1177/15579883241236223 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Trail, K., Oliffe, J. L., Patel, D., Robinson, J., King, K., Armstrong, G., Seidler, Z. E., Walton, C. C., Wilson, M. J., & Rice, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2021.728170 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
McMillan, S. S., Wilson, B., Stapleton, H., & Wheeler, A. (2020) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2020.1714000 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Getting Them Through the Door: a Survey of Men’s Facilitators for Seeking Mental Health Treatment
Seidler, Z. E., Rice, S., Kealy, D., Oliffe, J. L., & Ogrodniczuk, J. S. (2019) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-019-00147-5 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Burke, L., John, M., & Hanna, P. (2022) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106440 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Mapping Men’s Mental Health Help-Seeking After an Intimate Partner Relationship Break-Up
Oliffe, J. L., Kelly, M. T., Montaner, G. G., Seidler, Z. E., Kealy, D., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., & Rice, S. (2022) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/10497323221110974 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
DeBate, R. D., Gatto, A., Rafal, G., & Bleck, J. R. (2022) · Discover Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s44192-022-00028-9 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Men’s Help-Seeking Attitudes in Rural Communities Affected by a Natural Disaster
Labra, Ó., Wright, R., Tremblay, G., Maltais, D., Bustinza, R., & Gingras-Lacroix, G. (2018) · American Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.1177/1557988318821512 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Schlichthorst, M., King, K., Turnure, J., Phelps, A. J., & Pirkis, J. (2019) · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · doi:10.1002/hpja.246 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Fletcher, R. J., StGeorge, J. M., Newman, L. K., & Wroe, J. (2019) · Infant Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1002/imhj.21829 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Huỳnh, C., Caron, J., & Fleury, M. (2016) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0020764016641906 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Taylor, P., O’Donnell, S., Wuest, J., Scott-Storey, K. A., Vincent, C. D., & Malcom, J. R. (2021) · Global Qualitative Nursing Research · doi:10.1177/23333936211021576 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Aharon, G., Aisenberg-Shafran, D., & Levi‐Belz, Y. (2024) · American Journal of Men s Health · doi:10.1177/15579883241253820 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Rossum, A. V., van Laar, C., & Scheepers, D. T. (2024) · Social Issues and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/sipr.12107 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Crisan, C., Dijk, P. A. V., Oxley, J. A., & de Silva, A. M. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056472 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Lindborg, T. H., Hallström, I., Litland, A. S., & Persson, H. Å. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-18952-6 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Can Watching a Television Documentary Change the Way Men View Masculinity?
King, K., Schlichthorst, M., Keogh, L. A., Reifels, L., Spittal, M. J., Phelps, A. J., & Pirkis, J. (2018) · The Journal of Men s Studies · doi:10.1177/1060826518815909 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Can destigmatizing mental health increase willingness to seek help? Experimental evidence from Nepal
Lacey, L., Mishra, N., Mukherjee, P., Prakash, N., Prakash, N., Quinn, D. M., Sabarwal, S., & Saraswat, D. (2024) · Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · doi:10.1002/pam.22643 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Meaning-Centered Men’s Groups (MCMG) for the Transition to Retirement
Heisel, M. J., & The Meaning-Centered Men’s Group Project Team (2018) · Advances in mental health and addiction · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-03225-8_10 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Caring for the Child Welfare Client: Am I Good Enough?
Hoffler, S. J. (2017) · Smith College Studies in Social Work · doi:10.1080/00377317.2017.1324072 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Chamravi, D., Benedetto, M. D., & Naccarella, L. (2019) · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · doi:10.1002/hpja.262 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Kim, Y. K., Small, E., Pounders, R., Fall, S. L., & Wilson, W. L. (2023) · Child & Youth Care Forum · doi:10.1007/s10566-023-09751-y · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Lalande, L. (2017) · Queensland University of Technology · doi:10.5204/thesis.eprints.103980 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
DeBate, R. D., Gatto, A., Rafal, G., & Bleck, J. R. (2022) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1922591/v1 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Male Mental Health: A Peek Inside the Black Box
Tripp, D. A., & Yurgan, H. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3237-5_16 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Reid-Ellis, M., Gulliver, P. J., McIntosh, T., Marsh, S., & Fanslow, J. (2025) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-024-01431-9 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Voluntary male mentors' lived experience of social engagement with men in their community
Henderson, M., Hughes, M., Hurley, J., & Smith, G. P. (2022) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.14067 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Pharmacological Interventions versus Combined Treatment of Depression: A Prospective Study
Caselli, I., Bellini, A., Colombo, S., Ielmini, M., & Callegari, C. (2025) · Psychopharmacology Bulletin · doi:10.64719/pb.4452 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
King, K. (2019) · Minerva Access (University of Melbourne)
Koppensteiner, L., Silva, V., & Ribeiro, E. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-6119965/v1
‘It Puts You at Odds With Society’: Masculinity and Men’s Experiences of Mental Illness Stigma
McKenzie, S., Ramsden, G., Every‐Palmer, S., Ahir-Knight, S., & Oliffe, J. L. (2026) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/10497323261450776 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Turner, E. (2026) · Pastoral Care in Education · doi:10.1080/02643944.2026.2696457
- Authors
- Harding, C., & Fox, C.
- Affiliations
- Federation University (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- ORCID
- Fox, Christopher
- Venue
- American Journal of Men s Health
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-09-18
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 451-463
- ISSN
- 1557-9883 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-9891
- OpenAlex
- W1968614598
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 5.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doaj.org
- Locations
- American Journal of Men s Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- men's mental health, help-seeking, social norms, reciprocity, significant others, general practitioners, mental health stigma, athletes, help-seeking barriers
- MeSH terms
- Help-Seeking Behavior, Adult, Aged, Australia, Mental Disorders, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Men, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Personality, Psychotherapy, Psychotropic Drugs, Treatment Outcome, Risk Assessment, Qualitative Research, Men's Health, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
