Men’s mental health: why so few men seek psychology, and what actually helps
If you're a man who has put off seeing someone about how you’re feeling, you’re unfortunately far from being the only one.
Australian data consistently shows a wide gap between how many men experience mental health difficulties and how many actually get professional support.
Understanding why that gap exists, and what has been shown to close it, is a step towards doing something different.
The scale of the problem
Men’s mental illness in Australia isn’t rare. The Ten to Men longitudinal study, Australia’s largest ongoing study of male health, found that up to a quarter of men will experience a diagnosed mental health disorder in their lifetime, with around 15 per cent experiencing one in any given year. Anxiety is the most commonly reported issue in younger age groups, and depression and substance use remain persistent concerns across adulthood.
Despite this, most men say they wouldn't turn to a mental health professional if they were struggling, and only around a quarter say they would. The reluctance runs deeper than that figure alone suggests: separately, nearly one in four Australian men report they wouldn't seek help from anyone at all, not a professional, not a friend, not family. And even men who recognise they need to see a GP aren't necessarily quick to act on it, with roughly one in four saying they delay making that appointment. The consequences of this pattern are stark: men account for around three-quarters of all suicides in Australia, and are three times more likely than women to lose their life to suicide.
Men experience worse outcomes not because they're inherently more vulnerable to mental illness, but because of a systemic and behavioural gap: fewer turn to professional support, fewer talk to anyone at all, and even those who recognise they need help are slower to act on it.
Why men delay or avoid help
Research points to a consistent set of barriers, rather than a single cause:
Masculine norms and stigma
Conformity to traditional masculine norms, self-reliance, emotional restraint, avoiding vulnerability, has been repeatedly linked to lower help-seeking, particularly for anxiety. Many men have internalised the belief that struggling, and admitting it, reflects a personal failure rather than a normal response to pressure.
Age plays a role
Younger men are the least likely to seek professional help. A national Australian survey found men aged 18 to 29 had the lowest odds of choosing a professional source of support for either physical or mental health concerns, and reported more practical barriers to access than any other age group.
A mismatch with the system
Many men who do reach out find the standard therapy model doesn’t fit how they’d prefer to engage. Australian therapists themselves report that the conventional, conversation-first approach can be harder to sustain rapport with male clients, particularly younger men, and that adapting language, structure and pacing makes a measurable difference to whether they stay engaged.
Not knowing where to start
A large proportion of men with depression, anxiety or suicidality have seen a GP in the past year, but far fewer have gone on to see a mental health professional. The gap often isn’t willingness. It’s the step between raising a concern and knowing what a referral pathway actually looks like.
What actually helps
The research is clear that men do engage with mental health support, when the approach is suited to how they prefer to work. A few consistent findings stand out:
Having goal-directed, practical work
Men tend to engage better with therapy framed around clear, specific outcomes,whether that’s managing anger, improving a relationship, or getting through a period of stress, rather than open-ended exploration of feelings for its own sake. Skills-based approaches that build capability men can apply outside the session tend to hold engagement better over time.
Taking a strengths-based approach
Treatment models that identify and build on existing strengths, rather than focusing solely on deficits, have been recommended by Australian men’s therapists as more consistent with how many men want to be met in the room.
Knowing you have choices
Some men engage more easily with a male psychologist. Others find it easier to open up to a female psychologist. There’s no single right answer, which is why being able to choose, rather than being assigned, supports engagement.
Making early contact(before crisis point)
Men who wait until a crisis tend to need longer and more intensive treatment. Earlier contact, even a single session to talk through what’s going on, is consistently linked to better outcomes and shorter overall treatment.
Taking a clear first step
Because the biggest drop-off happens between “I should probably talk to someone” and actually booking, removing friction from that first step, whether that’s a GP referral, a straightforward Medicare rebate process, or simply knowing what a first session involves, matters more than it might seem.
Not sure where to start?
You don’t need to be in crisis to see a psychologist, and you don’t need to have the right words ready. If you’ve been putting it off, that’s a common starting point, and I encourage you to reach out for an initial phone call to see if we’re the right fit.
Phone: (03) 9115 1485
Email:info@healthcasepsychologists.com.au
Sources
Australian Institute of Family Studies (Ten to Men longitudinal study); national Australian survey on men’s health help-seeking preferences (2024)
Heliyon study on masculine norm conformity and help-seeking for anxiety (2024)
Australian Bureau of Statistics suicide data
Movember Men in Mind clinician training program
Sage Journals, Counseling Men: Treatment Recommendations From Australian Men’s Therapists
This article provides general information and is not a substitute for individual clinical advice. If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or, in an emergency, call 000.