Happy Father’s Day to all the fatherly therapists out there!
(Yes, I see you and I’m very glad you’re here; our community needs your presence.)
Let me get straight to the point. Fathers are in dire need of support. Immediately.
If you specialize in treating men, you know that the stigma for male emotional intelligence and expression is going away.
But men still feel pressure to provide, have answers for every solution, and keep their raw emotions to themselves.
The toxic culture is changing, but residue and backlash is also very real.
And now, with the economy being weird, when there’s confusion and backlash around gender expression, and when the nuclear family is so isolated, men hold a lot of pressure but don’t know where the release valves are.
I’ve recently had multiple discussions with women who are like, “yeah, I’m handling family life better now, but there’s NOTHING for my husband in terms of support.”
While "nothing" isn't an entirely accurate description of the resources out there for men, the nugget of truth is that support can be hard to find, especially when you're overwhelmed.
Many men are also not trained to cultivate networks of emotional support in the same way that many women are.
So here's a few resources for the Dads in your life and on your caseload.
Save them and pass them along. You never know who you might help.
Community resources FOR DADS!:
Parents Helping Parents:
https://parentshelpingparents.org/
Free, Confidential,
​24-Hour Parent Stress Line:
1-800-632-8188
This hotline is for parents to blow off steam and receive support around the challenges of parenting. They serve caregivers of any gender, and while they are based in the East Coast, you can call in from anywhere.
