Men’s Health Month 2025

Read our submissions from The DRM, SASCP and the AI Division!

As we mark Men’s Mental Health Month this June, the Division for Research and Methodology (DRM) of PsySSA reflects critically on the evolving discourse around men’s psychological well-being in South Africa. Despite growing awareness, men remain significantly underrepresented in mental health service use, often constrained by dominant ideals of masculinity that equate vulnerability with weakness.

In this short video and companion article, Executive Committee member Omphile Rammopo offers a timely and thought-provoking exploration into how mental health support for men can move beyond awareness toward action. Drawing from clinical insight, personal observation, and grounded local research, Rammopo challenges us to rethink therapeutic approaches that may inadvertently alienate men—and invites us to consider new, culturally relevant, strength-based frameworks.

Produced in collaboration with the DRM, this offering is both a call to reflection and a catalyst for transformation. As psychologists, researchers, and mental health advocates, we are urged not only to ask “Where to from here?”—but to act decisively in shaping support systems that resonate with the lived experiences of men across our diverse society.

#MensMentalHealthMonth #PsySSA #DRM #MentalHealthMatters #MasculinitiesInContext #PsychologyForSocialJustice

Men’s Mental Health Month 2025

By Sibusiso Vilakazi and Barry Viljoen

The month of June is dedicated to the awareness of Men’s Mental Health. The goal of which is to shine a light on and raise awareness regarding the unique mental health challenges faced by men. While there has been positive change in this regard, many men still continue to struggle in silence. One of the reasons for this could be as a result of societal expectations and the subsequent sigma, both internally and externally regarding the expression of vulnerability.

We know that statistically men are less likely to seek mental health support, which can and sadly often does lead to serious consequences. One such example being the higher suicide rates by men. It is hope that by giving a platform to these topics that friends, families, and communities will be encouraged to create safe spaces which are free of judgment and scrutiny. Reminding us that seeking help is a sign of strength and not that of weakness. Once again demonstrating that mental health is as important as that of physical health.

In this month we hope to break barriers by encouraging open conversations, which promote mental wellness and support those seeking the assistance required. In so doing we have collaborated with Sibusiso Vilakazi to share with us some of the work which he and his organisation are doing, to achieve these goals.

Brother’s Keeper SA (BKSA) is a men-only non-profit and registered organisation. BKSA serves as a support network and structure for men. It was established premised on the realisation that men do not have platforms through which they can be vulnerable and express their feelings and challenges. Unemployment, underemployment and a myriad of societal issues continue to beset men, resulting in psycho-emotional conditions such as stress, depression and, in extreme cases, suicide, substance abuse and propensity to criminal behaviour and detainment. In a world that prioritises and advances the rights and developmental needs of other members of society, little focus is devoted to the needs and a plethora of challenges that confronting men daily in South Africa. The number of men who are apprehended continue to rise, although it is understood that multiple factors account for this. BKSA loathes the acts of men who harm women.

BKSA came into existence at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic; at a time when greater support was needed, as the effects of pandemic were felt throughout the world. It was during this time when some men lost their jobs and some lost their spouses due to Covid-19.  It exists as a mechanism for providing a support network and structure for men to freely express their frustrations, challenges and needs in a space that is welcoming and free of prejudice and judgement.

BKSA hosts virtual support sessions monthly on Thursdays. Topics covered include social and emotional support, mental health, family issues, career development, financial health and physical health and fitness. Since its establishment, the organisation has developed an ongoing good relationship with practitioners and professionals across various fields. Ultimately, the organisation seeks to establish a formalised partnership with this network of professionals to enable sustainability of interventions and structured support services such as counselling, mentoring and coaching. Equally important, the organisation will partner with like-minded organisations whose mandates are geared towards development of men. It is through partnership that the organisation will be able to expand and widen its reach throughout the country.

BKSA observes local and international campaigns. The ultimate aim is to create a community of men who will be responsible, caring and able to be receptive to help and support. Men who participate in BKSA learn about how to be responsible in their communities, families and workplaces and responsive to the needs of their communities. There’s a sense of brotherhood and collective responsibility that is engendered through participation in BKSA.

In terms of how we operationalise our services, we identify men-related issues and:

1. Raise awareness by running and supporting campaigns
2. Referral to professional services and support

• Targeted support, such as one-on-one intervention (mentorship)

1. Community presentations
2. Recreational activities

While our organisation has experienced a gradual increase in numbers, we intend to continually diversify our approach to topical issues and interventionary strategies. Whether participants are dealing with relationship issues, financial difficulties and mental health concerns or require any other form of support, our team is readily available to support them. While we maintain that we do not offer clinical, therapeutic or medical diagnosis or intervention, our platform exposes participants to qualified and seasoned experts in the various spheres of counsel and guidance to ensure appropriate approaches to healing.

The vision of the organisation ideates the creation of a safe, supportive and holistic community that encourages a culture of expressive, emotionally conscious and self-aware men as they navigate their lived experiences in an ever-changing world. To produce men who are psycho-emotionally healthy and resilient. We seek to build a transformational space for men and encourage authenticity and accountable men who contribute positively to a healthier society.

Men’s Health Month 2025: Listening Beyond the Silence
By Dr Ewald Crause
For the Psychological Society of South Africa

June is Men’s Health Month. But for many men in South Africa, health remains something unspoken. Not due to a lack of problems, but because speaking comes at a cost. In too many homes, clinics, and counselling rooms, silence has become the strategy. And for many men, silence is safer than honesty.

This year’s theme, “Check In, Not Out”, calls for early intervention and preventative care. It is a message that needs to land differently here. Because in the South African context, men are not simply failing to check in with doctors or therapists. They’re also checking out of themselves, their families, and for some, even their futures.

As psychology practitioners and academics, we observe it in statistics and sense it in the absences and silences. The man who doesn’t return for a second session. The father who disappears from the school meeting. The young adult whose first appointment only comes after an attempt. For too many, help arrives too late.

Behind these moments are pressures that psychology professionals know well. High rates of unemployment. Cycles of intergenerational trauma. The burden of being the provider, even when there is nothing left to give. Social scripts that still reward men for being silent, stoic, and self-contained…until they break.

In practice, male clients often arrive not because they chose therapy, but because someone else did. A partner insisted. A boss threatened. A court ordered. When they do arrive, they rarely use clinical language. They don’t say “anxiety” or “depression.” They talk about pressure. Sleeplessness. Losing control. Being “off.” These are not just linguistic differences. They are warnings. If we are not listening closely, we miss the distress altogether.

To work effectively with men, our role is not to convince them to talk. It is to ensure that when they do, they are heard without judgment, interruption, or interpretation. That our language doesn’t assume help-seeking is familiar or safe. That we acknowledge the resistance without reinforcing it.

Intervention needs to be practical, not idealistic. Most men are not looking for long-term therapy. They are looking for something that works. Brief interventions, solution-focused conversations, peer models, role clarity, and support that aligns with their roles as workers, fathers, sons, or leaders. Respect matters. So does structure. So does knowing when to step back and refer.

But this is not only about individual therapy. It is about the systems in which we operate. Access to care is uneven. Services in rural and peri-urban areas remain difficult to reach. Long waiting lists in the public sector often mean that prevention becomes impossible. For many men, especially working-class men, there is no clear path between noticing that something is wrong and receiving the support to address it. That space between is where we lose them.

This month must not be reduced to awareness slogans. The work is not about getting men to speak. It is about creating spaces where they do not have to defend their pain. It is about reducing the threshold for help. About making support a familiar part of life, not a crisis response. About including men in the broader mental health conversation without assuming they already know the terms of engagement.

To the men reading this: this month is not a campaign. It is a reminder that your life matters. That survival is not the only goal. That checking in is a strength, not a liability. That you are not meant to carry everything alone.

To the psychology professionals reading this: we can change the trajectory. To create systems, practices, and messages that speak to men without demanding that they first speak like us. That is the challenge. That is the opportunity.

Let’s meet men where there are, not where society expects them to be. And not just in June, but in the work we do every day.