Health Experts Hope Dr. Rich Mahogany And ‘Man Therapy' Can Reduce Suicide In Men

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

Outback Mind operates community-based, peer-led men's circles across rural and regional Australia where local men facilitate regular gatherings that teach emotional literacy and create safe spaces for men to express emotions. Last year, up to 2,500 men attended these circles and reported feeling more capable of processing emotions they’d previously ignore.

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

Music therapy is helping teens identify, verbalize and cope with their emotions, and is emerging as a solution to bridge the gap in the national shortage of adolescent mental health professionals. Michigan State University alone has credentialed more than 9,000 music therapists since the degree program emerged in 1944. Studies show that when used in conjunction with medical treatement and traditional talk therapy, music therapy can improve health outcomes and reduce levels of depression and anxiety.

Public schools in Hennepin County have offered free school-based mental healthcare services to students since 2000, with the number of schools offering care continuously growing. Across the 263 Hennepin County schools that have implemented school-based mental health care, suicide attempts have decreased by 15%.

After the pandemic, many teens are still opting for telehealth therapy rather than in-office care. Telehealth makes therapy more accessible for those who need it, particularly through collaboration with mental health platforms like Daybreak that partner with school districts across the U.S. to provide access to virtual therapy in schools. Daybreak’s data shows that 92% of families see behavioral improvements and 80% of school staff see attendance and grade improvements in students who participate in therapy.

To help provide rural access to mental health care in India, ASHAs (appointed female healthcare workers) work in their local communities to identify and support women in need. By providing free listening and support services in addition to their medical care, ASHAs have helped thousands of impoverished women recover from depression.

The Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program (CAAMHP) works to make mental health care more accessible by offering residents six free counseling sessions with licensed behavioral health professionals who have completed culturally relevant training in order to better connect with farmers and ranchers facing mental health issues. So far more than 30 clinicians have completed the training and there are about 15 therapists working with CAAMHP, helping to provide care and reduce stigma surrounding mental health in the farm and ranch industry.

Through the Friendship Bench project, local elderly women are trained in the basics of cognitive behavioral therapy and given a park bench in their communities where locals experiencing mental health issues can meet with them to talk and seek therapy. Founded in 2007, the project has helped 280,000 people in 70 communities throughout the country.

The three-digit mental health crisis hotline — 988 — allows peop;le in crisis to get in touch with a counselor immediately. Since launching a year ago, the state’s 12 crisis centers have received more than 280,000 calls. Due to increased need, crisis centers are making plans to expand their services by hiring more staff and developing Spanish language services.