The Silent Burden: Addressing Emotional Suppression Among Men in Urban Kenya through Group Therapy

Emotional suppression among men in urban Kenya represents a significant yet under-addressed barrier to individual mental health and relational wellbeing. Rooted in rigid masculine socialisation, this pattern of self-silencing is reinforced by cultural norms that equate emotional openness with weakness, contributing to depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and, in its most severe manifestations, aggression, intimate partner violence, and femicide. This paper examines the scope and psychological impact of emotional suppression among men in Nairobi and Mombasa, drawing on regional and international literature to trace the pathway from suppressed emotion to relational and societal harm, and to identify the cultural and developmental mechanisms that sustain this silence. It then argues for group psychotherapy as a culturally responsive and clinically effective intervention, given its documented capacity to foster cohesion, peer modelling, accountability, and corrective emotional experiences within a protected, male-only therapeutic space. Building on this evidence base, the paper proposes The Silent Burden, a group therapy model grounded in Mentalization-Based Group Therapy, narrative therapy, and Emotionally Focused Therapy principles, designed specifically for emotionally suppressed men in urban Kenyan contexts. The model centers the repair of epistemic trust, structured emotion-regulation training, and the narrative re-authoring of masculine identity, while remaining attentive to multicultural considerations such as collectivist values and indigenous communal frameworks. The paper further considers the model's anticipated limitations, including initial resistance to vulnerability, risk of participant dropout, and the high level of facilitator skill required to manage emotionally sensitive material safely. It concludes that culturally grounded, male-only group interventions offer a promising and clinically sound pathway for helping men move from silence toward emotional expression, with benefits extending to individual wellbeing as well as family and community relationships across urban Kenya.

Keywords: emotional suppression; masculinity; group psychotherapy; men's mental health; Kenya

Emotional Suppression; Masculinity; Group Psychotherapy; Men's Mental Health; Kenya

1. Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1993). Emotional suppression: Physiology, self-report, and expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(6), 970–986. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.6.970 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Chaplin, T. M. (2015). Gender and emotion expression: A developmental contextual perspective. Emotion Review, 7(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073914544408 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Wachira, M., Maina, K., & Njoroge, W. (2022). Depression and emotional suppression among young men in Nairobi: The intersection of masculinity and urban stress. Journal of East African Mental Health, 6(2), 88–102. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Kimani, E., Mwaniki, P., & Omondi, L. (2021). Childhood trauma, masculinity norms, and emotional suppression among urban Kenyan men. African Journal of Psychological Research, 14(1), 44–59. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Macharia, J. (2023). Men’s silence and emotional harm in relationships: A study of stoicism in Nairobi. Kenya Journal of Gender and Mental Health, 5(2), 101–117. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Mutiso, V., Musyimi, C., & Ndetei, D. M. (2020). “We are just persevering”: Urban Kenyan men’s lived experiences of emotional suppression. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(7), 643–651. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020938982 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Mwangi, F., & Mwakazi, P. (2024). Emotional numbness and survival among young men in Mombasa’s informal settlements. Journal of African Urban Studies, 8(1), 65–80. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Omondi, L., & Kilonzo, B. (2021). Masculinity, stigma, and help-seeking: Barriers to mental health for men in Nairobi. East African Mental Health Journal, 2(1), 55–68. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Jansen, S. (2020). Masculinity, therapy, and Ubuntu: Healing African men through group work. South African Journal of Psychology, 50(2), 231–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246319897721 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Martin, R. M. (2024). Gender differences in suppression based on type of emotion. Psychology, 15(6), 826–845. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2024.156052 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Njoroge, W., Gitau, C., Onchari, E., Ongeri, L., Khakali, L., Khan, M., Merali, Z., Atwoli, L., & Shah, J. (2025). Patterns of self-harm presentations at a tertiary urban hospital in Kenya: A retrospective 5-year study (2018–2022). PLOS ONE, 20(1), e0317981. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317981 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Winter Mokhwelepa, L., & Sumbane, G. O. (2025). Men’s mental health matters: The impact of traditional masculinity norms on men’s willingness to seek mental health support—A systematic review. American Journal of Men’s Health, 19(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883251321670 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Herren, O. M., Agurs-Collins, T., Dwyer, L. A., Perna, F. M., & Ferrer, R. (2021). Emotion suppression, coping strategies, dietary patterns, and BMI. Eating Behaviors, 41, 101500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2021.101500 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Logoz, F., Eggenberger, L., Komlenac, N., Schneeberger, M., Ehlert, U., & Walther, A. (2023). How do traditional masculinity ideologies and emotional competence relate to aggression and physical domestic violence in cisgender men? Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1100114. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1100114 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Bliton, C. F., Wolford-Clevenger, C., Zapor, H., Elmquist, J., Brem, M. J., Shorey, R. C., & Stuart, G. L. (2016). Emotion dysregulation, gender, and intimate partner violence perpetration: An exploratory study in college students. Journal of Family Violence, 31(3), 371–377. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Bueso-Izquierdo, N., Hart, S. D., Hidalgo-Ruzzante, N., Kropp, P. R., & Pérez-García, M. (2015). The mind of the male batterer: A neuroscience perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 25(Part B), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.09.009 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Marín-Morales, A., Pérez-García, M., Catena-Martínez, A., & Verdejo-Román, J. (2022). Emotional regulation in male batterers when faced with pictures of intimate partner violence: Do they have a problem with suppressing or experiencing emotions? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(11–12), NP10271–NP10295. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520985484 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Cuijpers, P., Karyotaki, E., de Wit, L., Ebert, D. D., & Beekman, A. T. F. (2020). The effects of psychological treatment of depression in different populations: A meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 50(3), 367–373. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719002780 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. American Psychological Association. (2018). Group psychotherapy: APA guidelines and principles for practice. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/group-psychotherapy-guidelines [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Kealy, D., Seidler, Z. E., Rice, S. M., Oliffe, J. L., Ogrodniczuk, J. S., & Kim, D. (2021). Challenging assumptions about what men want: Examining preferences for psychotherapy among men attending outpatient mental health clinics. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 52(1), 28–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000321 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Farnan, L., Szczesniak, R. D., & Revenson, T. A. (2021). Group therapy for men with chronic illness: Impacts on mood and coping. Psycho-Oncology, 30(12), 2005–2012. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5839 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Cohen, R. I., Bailey, K., & Dunne, S. (2022). Group-based emotion regulation interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(9), 2519. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11092519 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. BMC Psychology. (2025). Effects of masculine culture on the mental health of Northern Sotho male youth. BMC Psychology, 13, 107. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02934-3 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Marmarosh, C. L., Sandage, S., Wade, N., Captari, L. E., & Crabtree, S. (2022). New horizons in group psychotherapy research and practice from third wave positive psychology: A practice-friendly review. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process, and Outcome, 25(3), 258–270. https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2022.643 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Messina, I., Calvo, V., Masaro, C., Ghedin, S., & Marogna, C. (2021). Interpersonal emotion regulation: From research to group therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 636919. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636919 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Bateman, A., Campbell, C., & Fonagy, P. (2021). Rupture and repair in mentalization-based group psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 71(2), 371–392. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2020.1847655 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Moore, R., Gillanders, D., & Stuart, S. (2022). The impact of group emotion regulation interventions on emotion regulation ability: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(9), 2519. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11092519 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Eggenberger, L., Fordschmid, C., Ludwig, C., Weber, S., Grub, J., Komlenac, N., & Walther, A. (2021). Men’s psychotherapy use, male role norms, and male-typical depression symptoms: Examining 716 men and women experiencing psychological distress. Behavioral Sciences, 11(6), 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11060083 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Negota, L. N. (2024). Harmonising identity: A narrative exploration of masculinity and emotions in adolescent school boys undergoing disciplinary action through group music therapy [Master’s thesis, University of Pretoria]. UPSpace Institutional Repository. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Robinson, M., Raine, G., Robertson, S., Steen, M., & Day, R. (2015). Peer support as a resilience building practice with men. Journal of Public Mental Health, 14(4), 196–204. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-04-2015-0015 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study