ManMaid

Caring for Men and Boys. In this episode I’m going to discuss a really painful issue that my male clients can present with; the issue is proceedings involving the CAFCASS agency, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. I’ll also be discussing how false allegations are at the centre of parental alienation and offer two definitions of the phenomenon.

The Good Guy of the Week story this week features Matthew O’Hanlon, a policeman with the Mount Laurel Police Department in New Jersey and a pit bull puppy. 

Caring for men and boys. In this final episode, focussing on psychotherapy with male shame, I look at the qualities that need to be present in the therapeutic environment if men are to feel OK enough about themselves and the therapist, to do their psychological work. I also look at the pitfalls that can prevent a positive psychotherapy outcome. I’ll be redefining aggression as an evolutionary and existential necessity, in a way that I hope will stop it being taboo. 

Good Guy of the week is an inspirational young footballer, Nick Tsaroulla who, in spite of serious injury in a car crash and doctors doubting that he would ever be able to play again, made a splendid comeback in league football. 

Caring for men and boys. In this episode, the penultimate episode in this series, I 

·      touch on Allan Schore’s research into the development of infant boys

·      introduce a model which identifies the three ways in which we process and integrate trauma

·      introduce the idea of us as a pot full of untold stories and briefly discuss one of my old cases with you and lastly, 

·      begin to outline the kind of help that men experiencing shame and rage may benefit from

Caring about men and boys; In part 2 of Psychotherapy with Male Shame, I continue my discussion about the most common difficulty that my male clients present with which is also very common amongst my female clients, the rage, endorphin release and shame cycle. I offer an empathic understanding, and  definitions of, masculinity, rage, shame and trauma. I describe how misandry contributes to male shame and rage issues. And of course, there’s a Good Guy of the Week; Matt Lima, a Massachusetts police officer who deals with Christmas shoplifters in a very unexpected way.

Caring about men and boys. In this episode I’m going to tell you about the kind of issues that my male psychotherapy clients present with; then I’ll share one of my models with you that describes the most common issue that my clients with anger, rage and shame issues present with, the rage, shame and endorphin release cycle. 

This episode particularly emphasises how rage and shame issues are trauma related; they are not personality flaws.

And of course there’s a good guy of the week, a Penzance in Cornwall recycling man who was a big help to a young family. 

Caring about men and boys. This is a longer than usual Christmas episode; it includes the final part of the International Men’s Day parliamentary debate and a very special Christmas ‘good guys of the week’ feature that expresses the quintessential heroism of men. Days before Christmas, on the 19th December, almost 40 years ago in 1981, the Penlee lifeboat and it’s eight men crew as well as eight crew members and passengers on the Union star, were lost off the south west Cornish Coast.

Caring about men and boys. In this penultimate episode I share the contributions of three more MP’s in a section of the debate which had a more emotional flavour than the rest with two of the MP’s speaking in a clearly moved and heartfelt way, talking from their own personal experiences. Some new men’s issues emerge and some more statistics on issues that have been discussed in previous episodes. And there’s a very practical suggestion from Dean Russel if you think someone you know is struggling with their mental health. And of course, there’s the ‘Good Guy of the Week’ who is Brandon Woolfe, a Brooklyn-based performance artist and English professor; he has been  concerned about the stress that the coronavirus pandemic had placed on New Yorkers and uses his skills to help people feel better connected in these isolating Covid-19 times. 

Caring about men and boys. More contributions from MPs who took part in this debate. Attention is given to men’s domestic abuse, their mental health and that no white working class men were admitted into SOAS, a prestigious university, in 2016.

Good guy of the week is 93 year old retired GP, David Handford who has been making cards for fellow care-home residents who couldn’t get to the shops and who has now turned his attention to making Christmas cards, raising a significant amount for charity. 

Caring about men and boys. A continuation of the International Men’s Day parliamentary debate.
This episode discusses the very small minority of MPs who attended this debate and the contributions of Philip Davies MP and Elliot Colburn MP.
Subjects discussed include
-  an 'equality plan' that wasn’t 50/50
-  how relationship breakdowns can lead to family breakdowns and to an individuals mental health breakdown
-  parental alienation
-  how relationship breakdown can result in increased suicide risk, especially for men
-  men’s higher rate of infection, admission to hospital and death rate from Covid-19
-  prostate cancer
-  mental health
and of course......good guy of the week! A Vietnam vet, who despite suffering from cancer,  saves his neighbours from their burning house

Caring about men and boys. Ben Bradley MP gave an excellent speech in the House of Commons, UK on International Men’s Day on the 19th November 2020. He compassionately discusses the negative impact on working class boys in particular and working class men in general, of working class values not being respected, indeed being identified as a phenomenon to ‘rectify’. He touches on a language issue, how  more and more phrases are coming into our language which seem designed to undermines men’s role and confidence.

And also, of course,  there’s a good guy of the week - a post office worker who helped in the process of a young girl giving up her dummy.