The Men's Stress Workshop: A Gender-Sensitive Treatment for Depressed Men

Over 10% of men will meet lifetime criteria for major depressive disorder, yet men often are unwilling to enter treatment, and have more negative attitudes toward therapy than do depressed women. The Men's Stress Workshop was developed as a gender-sensitive group therapy protocol for men that explicitly addresses the role of masculine norms in the treatment of depressive symptoms. In this article we: (a) provide an overview of the model that serves as the conceptual foundation for the workshop; (b) outline the major treatment components and hypothesized change mechanisms for the workshop; and (c) describe the research design and treatment development. Case material is presented to illustrate the treatment content and format.