It was exciting to be able to share my knowledge and experiences from having presented such workshops for and with men over the past 25 years!  Presenting this material, so other professionals might more effectively help men in their work, it was well received.  It is hard to believe I’ve now been doing this important work for a ‘quarter century’!?

What is equally hard to believe is that this topic is still so little known (let alone understood and addressed with some level of agreement)!? For example, I was talking with a brainstorming group of health care professionals last summer, when I mentioned my articles on this website concerning men’s issues. 

One of the women paused and then shared how she’s never thought of men as having ‘issues’.She quickly added that she knows women have issues, but never thought about men having any.  I suspect she is not alone in this ‘lack of awareness’ concerning men and their many and varied issues. 

And our current managed/’mangled’ health care system only looks at presenting problems/behaviors that can be detailed/diagnosed according to prescribed codes for individuals.  While this may be somewhat effective from a cost management and accountability viewpoint, I would suggest it does not help men (and those who care for or are influenced by their behaviors – everyone) to see what is perhaps an important ‘bigger picture’ – ‘men’s issues’.  For this reason the full title for my recent workshop was “The American Male – A ‘Treatable Condition’ (wink-wink)  A Macro Perspective of Men’s Many and Varied Micro Issues”. 

Please note the ‘wink-wink’/humor as I do not want to give the impression I believe men are somehow not OK (or even worse as somehow being defective), for I believe it is a person’s behavior, based upon past and present experiences, that is the critical point and which can be constructively addressed, including for men, too!  Women have been doing it quite effectively for decades now.

More to come...