Emotional expression, perceptions of therapy and help-seeking intentions in men attending therapy services

Seventy-three men who were currently accessing or had recently accessed mental health services completed a questionnaire regarding their emotional expression, engagement in therapy, perceptions of treatment helpfulness, and future help-seeking intentions. Perceptions of treatment helpfulness were inversely predicted by alexithymia (mediated by bond) and restrictive emotionality, although these emotional expression variables were unrelated to future help-seeking intentions. Bond was positively related to perceptions of treatment helpfulness and both variables predicted future help-seeking intentions. Contrary to expectations, perceptions of treatment helpfulness did not mediate the relationship between bond and future help-seeking intentions. It was concluded that, once in therapy, bond and perceptions of treatment helpfulness are more important to future help-seeking intentions than a man's difficulty or discomfort with emotional expression.