What gets in the way? Men’s perspectives of barriers to mental health services

Abstract

Background: This study describes barriers to accessing mental health services among men currently experiencing a mental health concern. Methods: Mental health help-seeking survey data from 778 male respondents who self-reported experiencing a mental health concern were analyzed. Results: Of these men, 65% (n = 513) wanted treatment and 35% (n = 265) did not want treatment. The most frequently endorsed barriers to mental health treatment were believing that a lot of people feel sad and down (80%; n = 620), not knowing what to look for in a psychotherapist (counselor; 80%; n = 618) and needing to solve one’s own problems (73%; n = 569). Compared with men who wanted help for their mental health..