Men's Health Week 2021

This week raises the attention of, and support towards men’s health, with a specific focus on mental health.

Why?

Even before the pandemic, men’s mental health was a cause for concern. There is a grave disparity in the high number of men who die from suicide and the low number of men who seek treatment for depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges, according to the Men’s Health Forum.

To show our support for Men’s Health Week, this blog focuses on our work with young males. Over the last 5 years, our one-to-one intervention work has supported more young males than young females - in 2019/20, 61% of our one-to-one interventions supported young males.

Our one-to-one work supports young people who are struggling to engage with education, often experiencing multiple complex needs, social isolation, mental health needs, and a lack of fulfilling or enriching experiences. One-Eighty supports young people to turn their lives around by focusing on areas such as social withdrawal, behavioural challenges, mental health support, communication difficulties, and low self-esteem. These complex needs have become even more heightened as a result of the pandemic - with increased disengagement from education, increasing youth unemployment for older young people, and a lack of social interaction or opportunities to engage in fulfilling activities. As such, referrals to our service for one-to-one interventions have increased.

During the winter lockdown, One-Eighty provided an extended piece of work into the early months of 2021 for James.*

James found himself in this very position where he was not engaging with education, was removing himself from previous peer groups, and was isolated with irregular patterns of sleep. James’ engagement with One-Eighty was sometimes limited by this and his verbal and non-verbal communication skills were notable development points that One-Eighty aimed to support.

One-Eighty’s work took a person-centred approach, creating a space for James to bring his own ideas and aspirations for his future and post 16 education pathways. This facilitated increased engagement from James as he shared he was considering attending college and selecting a sports course that involved physical and mental challenges as well as the opportunity to study. As James took a leading role in these discussions, it contributed to improved communication with One-Eighty and future professionals in meetings.

These conversations appeared to instil an increased autonomy in James, which later supported him to communicate his wishes of engaging with a one-to-one tutor after a significant period out of education. This experience, as well as personal developments seen in James such as; increased independence, resilience, and a willingness to embrace new challenges that previously were not features of his behaviour, later contributed to a return to a formal education setting as the intervention closed.

During the intervention, James felt the experience enabled him to “improve drastically as a person and how I am. I have found and recognise my strengths and areas I can improve on. One-Eighty’s tranquil, open-minded approach, allowed me to bring what I needed” each week.

Our work had many positive benefits - on James’ mental health; supporting his academic aspirations; and engagement; his social interaction skills. All of which facilitated the positive image James now holds of himself.

*James’ name has been changed to protect his privacy.