An Integrity Model perspective on working with occupational stress in men

Abstract 

Background

Work stress and high job strain are linked to significant depression and anxiety in men. The literature points to the need for a greater focus on men's coping with occupational stress. There is a dearth of psychotherapeutic programs addressing issues of work stress in men. This article presents an Integrity Model perspective of occupational stress for men, with a focus on clinical interventions.

Methods

Through the use of three clinical vignettes, the Integrity Model – an existential model of psychotherapy examining the manner in which one honours one's personal values – is offered as a theoretical and therapeutic frame of reference for men to understand and resolve issues of significant work-related stress and burn-out. This model focuses on the importance of personal integrity, operationally defined as honesty, responsibility, and community, as a guide to daily living and addressing impasses and clashes between personal and organizational values.

Conclusions

This article provides clinical evidence for a therapeutic perspective that offers men who are grappling with occupational stress a philosophical and practical therapeutic working model validating their sense of honour, integrity and commitment to a responsible lifestyle as a means of developing a new resilience in addressing and resolving workplace impasses. It offers a new and valuing therapeutic perspective in reaching and assisting a wide range of men to deal with occupational stresses, addressing the literature's call for an approach that (a) works within men's own frameworks and (b) views men from a more positive, respectful and hopeful perspective.

Keywords: Men's health, Occupational stress, Integrity, Values, Existential, Psychotherapy, Counselling, Intervention, Wellness