Dr. Whitman has appreciated men’s issues for a very long time. It started when he ran men’s groups at the Oakland VA at his very first internship in graduate school. Helping men learn to express themselves continued throughout his career in individual sessions, couples sessions and group meetings. In addition to his private practice, he has significant experience running men’s groups in addiction centers as well as for prison inmates. Some of these groups were focused on anger management but most of them were process groups, meaning focusing on expressing thoughts and feelings, and looking at the interactions between the group members. There are also some males from adolescence and on who feel more comfortable opening up about sensitive issues, such as sexuality to a fellow man. One of Dr. Whitman’s tenets is that it actually shows strength to be vulnerable about one’s feelings and he offers a space to help with that expression. Dr. Whitman is starting another men’s group in early 2026 in private practice.
Relevant statistical differences regarding men and women.
Many men are suffering with their mental health in the United States. Some alarming statistics
-Men are 3-4 times more likely than women to commit suicide.
-Men are twice as as likely as women to have a substance abuse disorder in their lifetime.
-Men make up about 95% of the prison population
-Men make make up about 60% of the homeless population.
-37% of Men aged 24-34 are college graduates compared to 47% of women in the age range.
Women
Make up 55% of law school graduates compared to men at 45%
Make up about 55% of medical school students
Do still have higher rates of depression
Do have a much higher suicide attempts than men (though much fewer completed suicided as
they tend to use less violent means)
What does it all mean?
Men are struggling more in some important ways. While it has been important that women have caught up to (and in many ways surpassed men), many men are suffering. Of course, Dr Whitman strives to help all women and men who are needing therapy but he has also run mens groups and a deep understanding of masculinity as it pertains to mens issues. This incudes currently treating first responders for addiction at a rehab center. Men seek out therapy as much lower rates than women and Dr Whitman seeks to encourage more men to utilize therapy and decrease the stigma for men participating in mental health services.