My guilty pleasure of being a British Royal Watcher and my passion for counseling psychology have collided in the most wonderful way this month as I want to highlight Men’s Mental Health! Not only has the birth of little Archie Mountbatten-Windsor got us thinking about all things baby, including mothering and fathering, but the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex have yet again put their influence behind some causes which promote mental wellness and help-seeking.

In the United Kingdom, the Royal “Fab Four” are promoting a program called “Shout” – giveusashout.org which is a crisis textline patterned after the United States version, crisistextline.org. These services are an extension of crisis telephone hotlines which can assist individuals who would like to reach out to someone when they are needing to connect with someone about the stresses of life and/or self-harming behaviors or intentions. The Royals had already developed a program called “Heads Together” which promotes mental health.

Just as Prince Harry was about to become a father, I coincidentally attended a really fabulous lecture by psychologist, Dr. Danny Singley. Dr. Singley is an expert on the mental health of new dads. The official term is Paternal Perinatal Mental Health. Dr. Singley and my KU colleague, Dr. Brian Cole, along with other researchers from Division 51 of the American Psychological Association, are leading the charge to get the word out about the psychology of fatherhood and the mental wellness of new dads.

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So here are some things that I learned during Dr. Singley’s lecture and some research I’d share with Prince William and Prince Harry if I had an opportunity.

1 in 10 new dads have post-partum depression!
There is a 50% chance that if Mom has post-partum depression, then Dad will have it, too.
Social Support for New Dads is IMPORTANT

Dad’s prefer supports which are:

Informal – friends, family, work colleagues, and on-line information
From fathers themselves
Supportive of a “winging it” on the fly approach to seeking support

If you are interested in learning more about Men’s Mental Health, please check-out the American Psychological Association’s Division 51 website which has loads of cutting-edge research on men and masculinities. You might also like to check-out Dr. Singley’s website, www.menexcel.com.

Finally, I hope that as you think about Father’s Day this month, you’ll also share another thing I learned from Dr. Singley: the day after Father’s Day is International Fathers Mental Health Day - June 17, 2019! So, support those new moms and dads in your world, help them get psychological help if needed, and share the info about the crisis textlines with everyone you know as well.

Have a wonderful June!