RESEARCH FINDS MANY PRACTITIONERS FEEL UNDERPREPARED TO NAVIGATE MEN’S DISTRESS Movember launches national rollout of Men in Mind tools to build trust, foster openness, and improve outcomes for men seeking support
With
Dr Zac Seidler,
Clinical Psychologist & Global Director,Men’s Health Research,
Movember &
Associate Professor, Orygen,
The University of Melbourne
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH JOURNAL SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney | June 2025
Movember’s Men in Mind expands nationally to equip mental health professionals with the tools to better connect with men before they reach crisis point. Research conducted by the Men’s Health Research team at Movember has found men account for three in every four suicide deaths in Australia, and more than 50% had sought help in the year before they died.
These confronting figures expose a critical disconnect between men reaching out and the mental health system’s ability to engage them in ways that keep them connected to care. Movember is taking action to help close that gap.
Led by the Movember Institute of Men’s Health, Men in Mind is an evidence-based training program developed by Dr. Zac Seidler, a clinical psychologist and Global Director of Men’s Health Research at Movember, that equips clinicians with the tools, confidence, and practical strategies to better connect with men before they reach crisis point.
Despite their best efforts, many practitioners feel underprepared to navigate men’s distress in clinical settings. Men in Mind addresses this gap by providing practical tools to build trust, foster openness, and improve outcomes for men seeking support. The program is specifically designed for mental health professionals, including psychologists, counsellors, and other frontline mental health workers.
Through a mix of self-directed online learning, video demonstrations, and reflective practice, Men in Mind teaches mental health professionals how to adapt their language, build rapport, explore emotional communication and respond to distress and suicidality in ways that resonate with men. It also includes interactive scenarios based on real client experiences.
Australian Health Journal spoke to Dr. Zac Seidler, Global Director, Men’s Health Research, Movember about the world-first randomised controlled trial his team conducted demonstrating significant improvements in practitioners’ confidence and competence to engage and respond to help-seeking men. After completing the program, 82% of practitioners reported increased confidence working with men experiencing suicidality, up from 47% at baseline, with these gains maintained over time.
The national rollout of Men in Mind follows strong interest from mental health services across Australia, with the program already being adopted in both public and private practice settings. Men in Mind is part of Movember’s broader commitment to changing the face of men’s health by backing scalable, evidence-based programs that support early intervention and work to improve the lives of men, their families and communities.
Practitioners can learn more and enrol in the Men in Mind course at meninmind.movember.com.
Source: Adapted from Movember Men in Mind Media Release 9th June 2025
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Expansion of specialist training in regional & rural areas
Associate Professor Sanjay Jeganathan, Chair of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC) states, ”Our rural and regional communities deserve the same access to specialist care as our cities. We’re seeing real results from our colleges’ commitment to rural training.”
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LIVED EXPERIENCE: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Lachlan Thorpe has shared his experience of living with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), highlighting the profound impact the condition had on his life and the difference medical technology has made to his recovery.
In an interview with the Australian Health Journal, Thorpe explained that his CRPS developed following an ankle injury sustained while playing rugby for Sydney University Rugby Club in late 2024. After undergoing surgery and rehabilitation for the injury, he began experiencing severe pain, swelling and sensitivity despite there being no further orthopaedic damage.
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Using human skin hair follicles to treat Alzheimer’s disease
Professor Michael Valenzuela is a science opinion leader, innovator and creative thinker with a career-long commitment to the prevention and treatment of dementia.
Following that he completed graduate medicine and medical training at the Prince of Wales Hospital. In 2012, he established the Regenerative Neuroscience Group at the University of Sydney, and in 2017 became the university’s first Professor of Regenerative Medicine.
Professor Valenzuela’s group discovered a new cell type with potential for regenerative medicine, a rare neural precursor cell found deep within the human hair follicle. He is the main inventor on several related patents and is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Skin2Neuron – a biotech company developing the first neurorestorative cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease based on this work.
