Do men experience depression and anxiety differently than women?

Often, yes. Symptoms can show up as irritability, anger, fatigue, or physical complaints rather than sadness or worry, which means they're sometimes missed or dismissed, by the man himself or by people around him.

Is it normal to feel like my identity is tied up in being a provider?

Yes, and it's one of the most common patterns seen in men in therapy. It becomes a problem when that role is the only source of identity, since job loss, income changes, or a child's unmet needs can then feel like a threat to identity itself, not just a practical setback.

What's the difference between struggling with masculine identity and using masculinity to justify harmful behavior?

They are not the same. Identity work addresses a mismatch between who a person is and what is expected of them. When behavior is causing harm to others, that requires direct accountability first, rather than being reframed as an identity issue.

Do you only work with men on identity issues, or do you treat men for other concerns too?

This page focuses on concerns related to identity, fatherhood, the provider role, aging, and achievement. Therapy is not limited to these topics; depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief are also part of the work.

Men's Mental Health | Identity, Fatherhood & Stress

Men’s Mental Health

Men often experience stress, grief, identity strain, and emotional difficulty differently. Symptoms may not look like standard sadness or worry. They may show up as irritability, fatigue, physical complaints with no clear cause, an increase in fixated exploration of a particular topic (aka rabbit holes), increased substance or alcohol use, or a quiet sense of disconnection from work, family, or yourself.

The good news is that you don’t have to work through your concerns alone.

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Many men struggle with questions of identity throughout the different stages of their lives. These struggles often follow an imposed cultural or societal blueprint of how a man is supposed to think, feel, and act. These blueprints are often absorbed early and are rarely examined directly. Not all blue prints are bad.
Most men also typically hold several identities at once, which can include that of being a provider, partner, father, and professional. When those identities pull in different directions, or one of them takes over the rest, or is lost completely, the strain can be significant. Therapy can help sort out and renegotiate the relationships held with certain identities.
Becoming a father introduces new expectations quickly, often before there's been time to process the change emotionally. For many men, the provider role becomes central to identity. Job loss, reduced income, or a child's needs that can't be met financially can then feel destabilizing in ways that go beyond the practical problem itself. Therapy can help navigate this process.
Physical capacity declines with age. Careers reach a plateau or end. Parents age and sometimes require care from their adult children. Experiencing one or more of these changes can raise difficult questions about identity and purpose once long-standing roles shift.
Reaching a long-pursued goal, a promotion, a title, or a financial milestone doesn't always bring the resolution it seemed to promise. Psychologists have described this pattern under various names, including the arrival fallacy and hedonic adaptation. In short, it refers to the tendency for satisfaction to fade quickly after a goal is reached, leaving the person back where they started emotionally despite real, external success. There may also be a desire or societal promise for work or another identity to deliver something that it simply cannot. Therapy can help sort this out, and support the formulation of new goals, roles, and forward looking identities.