ManKind Project

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · Bill Kauth, Ron Hering, Rich Tosi · 1985 · Wisconsin, USA

What it is

The ManKind Project is a non-profit men's organisation, not a therapy. It runs a weekend initiation, the NWTA, followed by peer-led men's groups and a ladder of further trainings. MKP describes the NWTA as "a hero's journey" and a "weekend initiation", "not a workshop or a retreat", and states its…

Format

• Published stages: MKP's "What to expect" page names Separation (paperwork, being asked whether one is ready to commit, a physical search of person and belongings with some items held, waiting in a dark silent room; MKP says the energy "may feel confrontational"), Descent (visualisations, individual…
• Content not published: the processes themselves, including the central individual process, are not described in detail by MKP, and this guide does not describe them.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Founding: MKP names three co-founders: Bill Kauth, Ron Hering and Rich Tosi. Its timeline gives the first NWTA as both 1985 (at the Haimowoods site in Wisconsin) and 1987 (Chicago, after five "Wildman Weekends"), without reconciling them. Influences the timeline names include a 1982 feminist therapists' conference, Patricia Clason's Understanding Yourself and Others training, Justin Sterling's men's training (1984),…
• Structure: MKP USA unified over 30 non-profits in 2019 into one organisation with 23 Areas and 120+ chartered Communities; trainings run internationally (UK from 1995; Canada, South Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, India, Israel and others).
• Policies: a "Stand on Abuse" adopted in 2010; multicultural trainings; a GBTQ "Gateway" weekend from 2001; a stated policy for transgender men (living as a man and on testosterone for at least a year, a strong support system, ideally a trans-experienced therapist, a private peer-led conversation).

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status in one line: MKP cites a longitudinal study of participants (Burke, Maton, Mankowski and Anderson, 2010, American Journal of Community Psychology) and earlier unpublished studies by MKP participants reporting gains in depression, life satisfaction and emotional expressiveness; no…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• your enthusiasm or scepticism steering the client. Working: the client's decision is his own.
• minority stress, outing risk, exclusion. Working: he chooses a setting where he expects respect.
• reluctance to tell anyone he is going; no follow-up booked. Working: the plan is written, shared and booked.
• withdrawal, shame, fear of the group, feeling he "failed" the weekend. Working: mood is stable or improving.
• requests for a clearance letter that shifts responsibility onto you. Working: communication is limited, consented and documented.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.