Much of my own research has followed boys and men our systems tend to overlook: youth involved with gangs, adolescents in the child welfare system, and fathers carrying untreated trauma. Across these groups, the same pattern appears. Help exists, but rarely in a form that feels usable.

What gives me hope is that the field is shifting its question from “Why won’t men get help?” to “How do we build help that fits men’s lives?” When we frame reaching out as a sign of responsibility and strength rather than weakness, men respond. Peer-led programs that reach young people before a crisis are showing real promise. And young men who would never walk into a clinic will often look for support online, where they already spend their time.

The hope is not in convincing men to be more like everyone else. It is in building help that meets men where they already are.

This is where I want to spend the next stage of my work, including new research on how young people seek mental health support in digital spaces and a new study following college-age men as they navigate masculinity, loneliness, stress, and the decision to ask for help. The conversation about men’s mental health is finally opening up. Our job is to turn that openness into help that saves lives.