Man Island Project

More men are seeking help for mental health issues than ever before. But the male suicide rate keeps climbing. Something needs to change. Our research has found that men are willing to seek help, but they aren't being met with the mental health treatment they want or need. The Man Island program aims to train clinicians to effectively engage these men who've already taken the first brave step into treatment. These guys deserve the best. It's time treatment embraced the depth and diversity of masculinity and started to meet the man where he's at. 

For the last three years Zac Seidler, in conjunction with an international research team, has been exploring why men with mental health issues don’t seek help, and if they do, why that help often misses the mark.

So they designed Man Island, a project which aims to provide groundbreaking research into men's mental health treatment, to ensure that no more men seeking help slip through the cracks. Their work has shown that men want treatment that is tailored to their needs to keep them in treatment and continue on the road to recovery. It's time we finally give them what they need, to ensure fewer men are set adrift when they need help most. 

Man Island will develop and trial the first ever men's mental health training program, so that clinicians can make sure they offer Australian men what that they will best respond to. Through co-development with men and experts in the field, Man Island will transform current treatments for men's mental health by incorporating the strengths of their masculinity, through:

• Professionally designed and developed online training modules for mental health clinicians working with men.
• A co-developed treatment manual offering best practice guidelines and applied tools for engaging men in mental health treatment.
• Improved gender sensitivity and changed attitudes in mental health clinicians working with men.
• Greater awareness of men’s strengths and diversity and how to approach them in an engaging way.
• Increased acceptability and engagement with mental health treatment amongst male participants interviewed in the pilot stage.
• Program rollout across urban, regional and rural NSW practices and hospitals to ensure maximum impact.

To achieve this, we need your help. 

What your donation can do?

• Aid recruitment of both men and clinicians for co-development and pilot evaluation of the training program.
• Ensure top quality manual design, online platforms and printing for widespread dissemination.
• Provide animation and video creation to incorporate interactive training exercises.  
• Support assistance across the project from an expert statistician and research staff.
• Ensure international attention and dissemination through travel and presentations at appropriate conferences and expert panels.
• Support the upkeep and improvement of the Man Island website.

If you are not in a position to give, you can still help by sharing our project with your friends and family through social media and your networks.