25 years ago, I started listening to men in counselling rooms.
What I kept hearing was the same thing: the way we’ve defined masculinity is too small. Too rigid. And it’s costing boys and men their relationships, their health, and sometimes their lives.
The message is loud and clear in couples counselling sessions as well – men are often boxed in by unspoken rules about emotional expression, limiting not just themselves but their relationships with their partners, and with others who they love.
The good news is that men and boys are already changing, in ways that rarely make headlines. My team’s work is about paying attention to those stories, amplifying them, and creating more room for them to happen — in schools, in relationships, and in the counselling room.
