Calling Males to the Counseling Profession

Calling Males to the Counseling Profession

Men are all but missing in the mental health profession reports the New York Times. Need Therapy? A Good Man Is Hard to Find (New York Times, 05/21/2011) reports that “men earn only one in five of all master’s degrees awarded in psychology, down from half in the 1970s. They account for less than 10 percent of social workers under the age of 34, according to a recent survey. And their numbers have dwindled among professional counselors — to 10 percent of the American Counseling Association’s membership today from 30 percent in 1982 — and appear to be declining among marriage and family therapists.”

The dearth of male therapists is a barrier for some men who’d like to receive counseling but would prefer to go to a man. Here’s another need to diversify the health care workforce.

Highlighted Clip for Wednesday, May 25, 2011:

"Need Therapy? A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
By BENEDICT CAREY
Researchers began tracking the “feminization” of mental health care more than a generation ago, when women started to outnumber men in fields like psychology and counseling. Today the takeover is almost complete.