Therapy 101
The Mental Health of Fathers: Why Dads Need Support Too
Fatherhood comes with unique pressures, expectations, and emotional challenges that often gets overlooked. This Father's Day, let's explore why supporting dads'
The month of June often means the beginning of summer sun, fun gatherings, the end of the school year, and Father's Day. Father's Day gives us a day to spend time with and show appreciation for the dads in our lives who help us feel safe, loved, and supported. An important aspect of this day in June that I'd like to bring to your attention is this — our Fathers are human too, and deserve the same love and support that helps someone feel safe and seen.
When you think of a healthy Father figure, you may think of them as a protector, provider, supporter, and encourager. What we may not always see is the stress, burnout, depression, and emotional struggles they may also experience — just like anyone else. By recognizing and honoring these battles, we can support our Fathers in ways that benefit themselves, their children, their partners, and their families.
Between the expectations of oneself, family, and society's idea of what the "ideal Father" should look like, the dads in our lives are handed the perfect recipe for anxiety and burnout.
We often expect our Fathers to be financial providers. Money is a significant source of stress for most people, and that doesn't exclude our dads. Between working extra hours and managing family budgets, financial stress can be detrimental to anyone's mental health.
Fathers also balance work, family, personal needs, partnerships, and co-parenting — all while feeling pressure to maintain the "rough and tough" exterior that society expects. Societal expectations for men are often rooted in the idea that they must be the strong, problem-solving anchor of the family. This stems from toxic masculinity — the stereotype that men need to be masculine, emotionless, aggressive, and dominant.
Toxic masculinity is observed and taught to young men from an early age, setting up males with a distorted view of who they need to be as they grow up. By teaching the men in our lives that mental health struggles — and struggles in general — are not signs of weakness, we can begin to dismantle the harmful societal expectations placed on our Fathers.
If you notice these signs in the Fathers — or males in general — in your life, it's important to affirm their struggles, offer unconditional support, and suggest additional support from others, such as a therapist or trusted friend, who can offer a judgment-free space to sit with them in those hard moments.
Now that we've recognized that Fathers may need additional support — just like any other human — we need to continue spreading the message that seeking help is not a weakness or a flaw. It's actually a sign of strength.
Effective stress management is important too. Fathers often face a wide variety of stressors, and learning to manage our emotions helps us grow, heal, and show up as the best versions of ourselves.
Fatherhood is hard. Let's work together to normalize therapy and counseling for Fathers, so they have the space to hold and heal from their experiences. We need to redefine men seeking help as a sign of responsibility and courage — for themselves and for their families.
