Project aims to boost mental health and self-esteem of teenage boys

The Magnificent Boys Project, currently being piloted at a school in the West Midlands, is a psychologically informed programme which aims to boost the mental health and self-esteem of boys to help them to take action to achieve their goals.

Developed by chartered BPS members Dr Peter D'Lima and Dr Claire McGuiggan, from Not the Easy Way Psychology Service, it was presented at the BPS Male Psychology Section annual conference earlier this month.

Dr D'Lima said the programme arose partly as a response to the reactive approach by some schools to debate about social media influencer Andrew Tate, with teachers often shutting down conversations, while other conversations focused solely on misogyny.

"We believed that was not helpful and we thought a more positive intervention would be more effective.

"We are open minded and curious about all views, and instead of trying to suppress the boys' opinions, we use a moral reasoning approach that uses the differing moral perspectives in the group to challenge and open up thinking rather than telling children that their views are wrong.

"As the boys in the pilot have different experiences and varying needs, there are different levels of reasoning within the group, and so views are indirectly challenged by other group members."

The group is action based and aims to increase boys' "sense of agency and competence", Dr D'Lima added.

"This is an approach that boys can feel more comfortable with rather than an exclusive focus on discussing emotions. The boys set themselves personal challenges [which could be around developing a skill or a positive habit], and with the group's help are encouraged to overcome the challenges and increase their competence.

"This [increased competence] is known to be linked to better mental health for everyone but especially for boys. Underpinned by acceptance and commitment therapy principles, we help the boys to accept and tolerate negative feelings and challenge whilst shifting their focus to what they value in life and helping them to live a life in line with their values."

With Department for Education figures (2020) showing that boys are 2.5 times more likely than girls to have social, emotional, and mental health needs, and boys being three times more likely than girls to be excluded, Dr D'Lima and Dr McGuiggan hope the programme will help boost participants' self-confidence and drive to achieve positive change in their lives through an approach targeted specifically at their needs.

The pilot group is made up of six 13 to 17-year-olds and includes both typically developing boys and some identified with socio-emotional concerns to ensure diversity of viewpoint, experience and positive modelling.

The programme involves six fortnightly face-to-face, one-hour sessions, led by an educational psychologist and a school mentor, where the boys are presented with stimuli for in-session action, discussion, and individual or paired follow-up tasks.

A speaker charter encourages participants to focus on listening and giving respectful feedback based on the concept of 'disliking the idea, not the person'.

The project is being evaluated and it is hoped to encourage other schools across the UK adopt the approach.

"Using an approach which has psychological underpinnings, we aim to help uplift, encourage and build self-confidence and drive amongst teenage boys,' said Dr D'Lima "because, if you see yourself positively, you are more likely to act more positively in the world."