Providing spaces for men and boys to choose who they want to be in the world,
rather than the world deciding who they should be.
Brian has been delivering programming for men and boys since 1997.
He started this journey by leading wilderness programming for teenaged boys with HeartWood, and Men’s Canoe Retreats with the Tatamagouche Centre. In this work his practice includes disrupting harmful notions of masculinity to create a more compassionate and healthy boys and men. This work benefits men and boys, their partners and families, and their communities. In his work Brian uses trauma informed approaches and strives to be inclusive of all genders and gender non-confirming individuals.
rather than the world deciding who they should be.
Brian has been delivering programming for men and boys since 1997.
He started this journey by leading wilderness programming for teenaged boys with HeartWood, and Men’s Canoe Retreats with the Tatamagouche Centre. In this work his practice includes disrupting harmful notions of masculinity to create a more compassionate and healthy boys and men. This work benefits men and boys, their partners and families, and their communities. In his work Brian uses trauma informed approaches and strives to be inclusive of all genders and gender non-confirming individuals.
The T.O.N.E. Project: Therapy Outside Normal Environments
A group therapy experience for men that weaves adventure and experiential based therapy with art, drama, and music therapies. Sessions can range from day-long events to three-month long, multi-weekend experiences. The T.O.N.E. Project is a collaboration between Brian and Nick Cardone, Registered Counselling Therapist. Why the T.O.N.E. Project? Traditional masculine messages like "Suck it up", "Be a man" and "Don't cry" can have devastating effects on the mental and physical health of boys and men which then ripples out to their families and communities. Consider the stats:
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The T.O.N.E. Project creates opportunities for men to build healthy social connections and explore their inner lives leading to improved health outcomes for men. We take men out of their normal environments in ways that align with how they tend to engage with themselves and their world.
Please see these documentaries about The T.O.N.E. Project
Showing up for T.O.N.E.
T.O.N.E. Voices of Family Members
Programming for Boys and Male Identified Youth
Brian delivers customized programs for adolescent boys to be delivered in schools or youth service organizations. Topics include: masculinity, healthy relationships, consent, help seeking behaviours, drug and alcohol use, mental health and more. The basis for this work is creating spaces for male-identified students to talk openly about these topics and challenge the masculine scripts that prevent them from being who they want to be in the world.
Brian delivers customized programs for adolescent boys to be delivered in schools or youth service organizations. Topics include: masculinity, healthy relationships, consent, help seeking behaviours, drug and alcohol use, mental health and more. The basis for this work is creating spaces for male-identified students to talk openly about these topics and challenge the masculine scripts that prevent them from being who they want to be in the world.
Raft Up: Training for Facilitators on Engaging and Mentoring Boys and Young Men
Facilitation and mentoring training for volunteers and professionals who work with boys. These trainings blend HeartWood's youth engagement research and expertise with skills and activities that support space for male identified youth to explore and become more fully who they want to be in the world. Participants learn youth engagement practices, facilitation skills, trauma-informed approaches, activities and tools to enter into sensitive conversations with male youth. This work is experiential and uses a pro feminist and trans inclusive lens.
Delivered in Partnership with HeartWood Centre for Community Youth Development
Facilitation and mentoring training for volunteers and professionals who work with boys. These trainings blend HeartWood's youth engagement research and expertise with skills and activities that support space for male identified youth to explore and become more fully who they want to be in the world. Participants learn youth engagement practices, facilitation skills, trauma-informed approaches, activities and tools to enter into sensitive conversations with male youth. This work is experiential and uses a pro feminist and trans inclusive lens.
Delivered in Partnership with HeartWood Centre for Community Youth Development
Rites of Passage
Since 2000, Brian has been leading Rite of Passage experiences for boys and men. A Call to Adventure took ten young men between the ages of 15-18, hiking for seven days into Polletts Cove, in the Cape Breton Highlands of Nova Scotia. He has led rites of passages for:
Since 2000, Brian has been leading Rite of Passage experiences for boys and men. A Call to Adventure took ten young men between the ages of 15-18, hiking for seven days into Polletts Cove, in the Cape Breton Highlands of Nova Scotia. He has led rites of passages for:
- Boys maturing into adolescence
- Men moving towards marriage
- New fathers to be
"In many tribal cultures, it was said that if the boys were not initiated into manhood, if they were not shaped by the skills and love of elders, then they would destroy the culture. If the fires that innately burn inside youth are not intentionally and lovingly added to the hearth of community, they will burn down the structures of culture, just to feel the warmth."
Michael Meade from Men and the Water of Life
Michael Meade from Men and the Water of Life