Transcribed by https://otter.ai and lightly edited
Jenna Solomon 0:00
Before we begin, I just want to flag that this episode contains a reference to alcohol abuse. Hello and welcome to Ease in Mzansi. I’m Jenna Solomon, and this is the podcast where we spotlight mental health support groups that can help us cope with the all too personal impact of South Africa’s big socio – economic issues.
0:30
According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group support group leaders are mostly women, based on the guests on this show. You’ve probably noticed this yourself. What’s more, one support group leader told me that even though there are men in her group, they don’t always engage as well as women. But with the ongoing discussions around toxic masculinity and its impact on father absenteeism and the gender based violence epidemic, we know that men need to have a voice at the table. So why aren’t there more men leading support groups? And how can we change that? According to Dr Shahieda Jansen, clinical psychologist and author of Masculinity Meets Humanity, we need to change the way we think about men.
Dr Shahieda Jansen 1:12
So we live in a society, perhaps globally, where caring has been feminized. It’s difficult for men even to be present sometimes in this healing context, because it’s almost designed with not maybe overt exclusion, but men perhaps may not feel welcomed. There are quite a lot of discourses that deny, for instance, that men can be nurturers. And there’s some evidence you know that men are nurtures. I f you want men to come into a support space running support groups, then you must deliberately and specifically target men, design the training , and that is male friendly, and you will then create cohorts of men coming into the space for those kind of facilitation skills.
Jenna Solomon 2:26
Of course,
2:26
there are already men leading support groups, as is the case with Pierre, a long time Al-Anon volunteer. Us
Pierre 2:33
guys, we are seen as the leader of the family. We are seen as the breadwinners of the family, and so therefore we feel that we have the power to be able to sort things out ourselves. But unfortunately, we are wrong when we think of it being as a guy thing not to go to Al-Anon because Al-Anon is there to help everybody, all involved in the family where there is alcoholism. And so therefore, I would say, “Please, guys, just remember that there is help, there is hope. Just join an Al – Anon group. We’ve got to have someone and somewhere, where somebody can help you through the process, and Al-Anon can do that for you.”
Jenna Solomon 3:23
So guys, even men, can feel vulnerable and need help with their mental health. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. That’s an idea that we as a society need to change. Men, there are many support groups that would appreciate your presence in their meetings. Do you think that a support group might be something that would benefit you. Why not listen to our episode on the role of a support group member, and click the link to Shahieda’s book is in the show notes. If you need support with a mental health condition, you can contact the South African Depression and Anxiety Group’s counseling hotline on 08 105, 67 567. That’s it from Ease in Mzansi. As we like to say here in South Africa, “sterkte en hou vas “,” hamba kahle “.. Chat again next time.