Statistically, most men do not ask for help or initiate counseling treatment.  They are sent by their significant other or they show up for marital counseling with their significant other.  Why are men less likely to seek therapy for psychological distress?  From talking to many men who have sought help from me via counseling, they almost universally report that they thought they could fix the problem themselves.  Most of the time fixing the problem meant either trying not to think about what was bothering them or attempting to cover or mask the problem by any one of a number of different addictive behaviors such as drinking, internet porn, or even golfing to name but a few!

Most men who initiate counseling on their own rationally decide that the actual pain of dealing with the problem is far exceeded by the pain of letting the problem or difficulty continue as it is.  In other words, it finally makes sense to stop trying to fix it themselves first, because they find they cannot fix it and second, because we as men are used to calling on specialists or experts to do what we cannot do ourselves (For example, the plumber or the electrician.).

Common issues among the men I have counseled include Major Depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, sexual addiction and sexual abuse.  Yes, sexual abuse, and although it is not as common among men, statistics do show that 1 in 6 men will have experienced some kind of sexual abuse by the time they reach adulthood.  Many of these men are in prison, but there are still quite a few among the general population.  Additionally, I have done a substantial amount of work with veterans suffering from PTSD.

Interestingly enough, in my experience, it has seemed as though the men have not only been the most skeptical about the benefits of counseling, but also they have been the most enthusiastic about the results they received when they actually decided to go ahead and try it.  Most men will not seek counseling until they get sick and tired of being sick and tired.  Are you there yet?