This post was originally published in The Backbencher on May 21st 2019
Next month sees the 6th Male Psychology Conference take place at UCL. In light of this, I decided to interview Dr John Barry, the lead organiser of the conference.
Me
The BPS had a vote last year on whether or not to have a male section. What was the actual result of this vote, i.e. votes for and against?
John
Out of nearly 4000 votes, two thirds of people were for creating a Male Psychology Section. This level of support surprised many people. Similarly, our new Handbook of Male Psychology is fast looking like becoming one of Palgrave Macmillan’s biggest selling psychology books
The palgrave handbook of male psychology and mental health 2019 The official launch is at UCL on 30th May and attendees can get a voucher for 20% off https://malepsychology.org.uk/event/handbooklaunch/
Me
I understand there was some opposition towards having a male section. What were the main reasons for this?
John
The opposition was from some psychologists who thought we weren’t feminist enough i.e. we don’t blame masculinity or ‘patriarchy’ for men’s mental health problems. They set up a website that was full of misleading nonsense about the Male Psychology Section. Everything they said was easy to disprove (see my blog with Martin Seager here
Me
What are the criticism of the proposed male psychology section and are they valid?
John
We offered to debate them in front of a public audience on film about their opinions. Despite apparently being very outspoken online they were very reluctant to debate us. Eventually they agreed to a ‘discussion’ on camera at a neutral place, but when we arrived we were told by the camera crew that the radicals had pulled out. This has become a recurring theme – radicals criticise Male Psychology, we offer to debate them in public, and the radicals back off. I don’t blame them.
Me
What were your reasons for starting an annual male psychology conference?
John
The first conference in 2014 was a way of bringing together research related to Male Psychology and presenting it to psychologists. We quickly realised two things: there were lots of people outside psychology who fully understood the urgency of helping men’s mental health, and there were lots of people inside psychology who had no awareness that men’s mental health was an issue at all.
Me
Are all the presenters psychologists/trainee psychologists?
John
Most presenters are professional psychologists. Some are people working in roles that impact men’s mental health e.g. the Minister for Mental Health Jackie Boyle-Price, MP, and Paddy Benson (Benson Boxing Academy) who improves men’s mental health through boxing training.
