New counseling initiative seeks to change the conversation around men’s mental health

A new counseling center in Mt. Pleasant is working to change how men approach mental health by creating a space where emotional vulnerability is encouraged rather than stigmatized.

The Men’s Emotional Health Center, an initiative of Center of Hope Counseling, offers individual counseling, therapeutic groups, educational workshops, and community resource referrals. The center also plans to launch a weekly podcast focused on mental and emotional health.

Ryan Griffus, a limited licensed professional counselor with Center of Hope Counseling, says the idea originated with Lisa Carpenter, founder and owner of the counseling practice. The two combined their professional experiences in mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and nonprofit services to identify gaps in local resources for men.

“There have been countless local and national headlines regarding tragic events that tell the story of men ill-equipped, isolated, or undereducated about the options available to them to process the mental [and] emotional difficulties they encounter,” Griffus shares.

Griffus says longstanding stigma surrounding men’s emotional expression has contributed to the need for services specifically designed to support them. 

He hopes the center at 1001 Fairfield Drive in Mt. Pleasant will challenge misconceptions that expressing emotions is a sign of weakness and encourage men to seek help without fear of judgment.

“[Carpenter] said it best recently that we hope not only to normalize men talking about their emotions and feelings, but we want to make it ‘cool’ because it is cool,” he says, noting the center aims to help men recognize the importance of emotional well-being and understand how unresolved emotional struggles can affect their relationships, behavior, and families across generations.

In his experience, Griffus has found that when given a safe, supportive environment, men of different ages express their thoughts and feelings more freely. 

The center’s planned weekly podcast will extend that mission into the broader Mt. Pleasant community. Episodes are expected to feature local professionals from fields such as psychiatry, psychology, nutrition, physical therapy, and medicine.

By discussing mental health topics openly and introducing listeners to local clinicians and service providers, Griffus hopes the podcast will make seeking support feel more approachable. 

“We hope to make the transition [from a] casual observer to active participant in mental [and] emotional treatment far more organic and comfortable,” Griffus says.

In sharing his own experience, Griffus recounts how isolation during adolescence contributed to six years of homelessness and three suicide attempts. 

“The opportunity to receive help and discover that I wasn’t alone in my experiences was life-changing, technically life-saving,” he reflects.

Through counseling, educational programming, and community outreach, the center hopes to help men find that same sense of connection while encouraging future generations to view emotional health as an essential part of overall well-being.