SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 Therapists have said it\u2019s common for men to repress things like trauma, grief, stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n
Now, a new weekly series of discussions at the Marmalade branch of the Salt Lake City Library located at 280 W. 500 North aims to help men bring it all to the surface.<\/p>\n
Nick Steffens organized the series.\u00a0A graduate student working through his clinical hours on the path to becoming a therapist, Steffens originally developed a passion for the topic in his teen years when he observed dynamics in his own family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became really interested in the difference between my grandpa\u2019s experience and my father\u2019s experience in the world,\u201d Steffens said, clinical intern, CMHC-I, with Red Willow Counseling & Recovery.<\/p>\n
Steffens explained his grandfather had a \u201croadmap\u201d \u2014 a myth or story that set expectations in his family about what it meant to be a successful man. Amid changing societal dynamics, he said his father struggled to navigate that change in a \u201cmeaningful and healthy way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of, kind of, outward blame,\u201d Steffens said during an interview with KSL 5. \u201cThere was a lot of looking for things to describe what was going on, but there wasn\u2019t a lot of internal reflection about how he could navigate this world that was different than the one he had seen his father, my grandfather navigate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, Steffens\u2019 curiosity led him on his current professional journey and contributed to his desire to help men with their mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody has a man in their life who could use a little help, who could use a little support,\u201d Steffens said. \u201cThat might come up in isolation. It might come up in loneliness. It might come up through addiction, whether that be to a substance or something like video games. It might come up in just a depression.\u201d<\/p>\n