This book makes a highly innovative contribution to overcoming the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness – still the heaviest burden both for those afflicted and those caring for them. The scene is set by the presentation of different fundamental perspectives on the problem of stigma and discrimination by researchers, consumers, families, and human rights experts. Current knowledge and practice used in reducing stigma are then described, with information on the programmes adopted across the world and their utility, feasibility, and effectiveness. The core of the volume comprises descriptions of new approaches and innovative programmes specifically designed to overcome stigma and discrimination. In the closing part of the book, the editors – all respected experts in the field – summarize some of the most important evidence- and experience-based recommendations for future action to successfully rewrite the long and burdensome ‘story’ of mental illness stigma and discrimination.

The goal of this book is to explore the phenomenon of suicide, focusing on males who are at a greater risk than females. Scholars and mental health professionals continue to have the tendency to ignore men and focus instead on the more narrow demographic groups. Attention is drawn to the lack of help-seeking behavior exhibited by men as well as the numerous recommendations for the prevention of male suicide. The issues specific to male suicide includes the atypical nature of male depression, the role of loneliness, drug and alcohol abuse, the male hormone (testosterone), and men’s preferred method for suicide (guns). Suicide in specific groups of men, including male athletes, soldiers, mass and serial murderers, suicide bombers, murder-suicides, and famous creative men, is discussed in great detail. In addition, the text explores the many and varied reasons for suicide in gay men and in ethnic minorities. The invited contributors provide a cross-cultural viewpoint with essays on male suicide in Australia, China, Ghana, Palestine, and Uganda. Two examples are given for potential programs that appear to be effective for men: Mates in Construction which was designed to help construction workers in Australia, and Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) training. The book concludes with discussions of how to prevent suicide in men, a group known to deny the existence of personal problems and is reluctant to seek help. With three illustrations and 19 tables, this book will be an excellent resource for crisis interveners, researchers, counseling centers, mental health professionals, and human service providers.

A complete and accessible textbook covering current understandings about how mental health issues affect men, and the available treatments.

Deaths by suicide are high: every 40 seconds, someone in the world chooses to end their life. Despite acknowledgement that suicide notes are social texts, there has been no book which analyzes suicide notes as discursive texts and no attempt at a qualitative discourse analysis of them. Discourses of Men's Suicide Notes redresses this gap in the literature. Focussing on men and masculinity and anchored in qualitative discourse analysis, Dariusz Galasinski responds to the need for a more thorough understanding of suicidal behaviour. Culturally, men have been posited to be 'masters of the universe' and yet some choose to end their lives. This book takes a qualitative approach to data gathered from the Polish Corpus of Suicide Notes, a unique repository of over 600 suicide notes, to explore discourse from and about men at the most traumatic juncture of their lives. Discussing how men construct suicide notes and the ways in which they position their relationships and identities within them, Discourses of Men's Suicide Notes seeks to understand what these notes mean and what significance and power they are invested with.

This Handbook represents the first concerted effort to understand male mental health in a way that facilitates a positive step forward in both theory and treatment. An alarming number of men experience serious mental health issues, as demonstrated by high rates of suicide and violent offending. Despite these problems, the study of male psychology has either been overlooked, or viewed as a problem of defective masculinity. This handbook brings together experts from across the world to discuss men’s mental health, from prenatal development, through childhood, adolescence, and fatherhood. Men and masculinity are explored from multiple perspectives including evolutionary, cross-cultural, cognitive, biological, developmental, and existential viewpoints, with a focus on practical suggestions and demonstrations of successful clinical work with men. Throughout, chapters question existing models of understanding and treating men’s mental health and explore new approaches, theories and interventions. This definitive handbook encapsulates a new wave of positive theory and practice in the field of male psychology and will be of great value to professionals, academics, and those working with males through the lifespan in any sector related to male mental health and wellbeing.