The Council aims to promote healthy masculine identity development and growth in areas such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and interpersonal skills. It achieves this through structured intervention utilising a gender-relevant, strengths-based group approach. During the sessions, boys are given the opportunity to talk and listen to concerns and interests across topics such as relationships, conflict resolution, education, leadership, community service, diversity, mass media messages, personal values, integrity, and future goals.
The Council is designed for adolescent boys aged 14-19.
The Council for Boys and Men has only been evaluated in the USA. A pilot randomised control trial (Liddell & Kurpius, 2014) was conducted with 22 people (11 in both intervention and control groups). Study participants were 16 years old on average mostly Caucasian (50%).
The Council has not been evaluated in Australia or with Aboriginal Australians.
Overall, The Council had a mixed effect on client outcomes.
Mixed research evidence:
The Council is delivered in small groups over 10 sessions held weekly which have a duration of 60-90 minutes. The Council is delivered in school settings. During the sessions, boys are given the opportunity to talk and listen to concerns and interests across topics such as relationships, conflict resolution, education, leadership, community service, diversity, mass media messages, personal values, integrity, and future goals.
The costs for The Council were not reported in the study.
The Council is delivered by 2 male facilitators.
1 Pilot RCT conducted in the USA with a sample of 22 people (Lidell & Kurpius, 2014).
Liddell, TM, & Kurpius, SR 2014, ‘Assessing the Impact of a School-Based Group Approach with Adolescent Males’, Journal of School Counseling, vol. 12, no. 22, pp. 1-33, 2021, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1162472.
09 Dec 2022
We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
You can access our apology to the Stolen Generations.