FROM INTERNET ADDICTION TO COACHING THE MEN OF THE FUTURE – A KENNY MAMMARELLA-D’CRUZ CASE STUDY

Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz, 'The Man Whisperer'

Hasan Beyaz from Sanity Marketing contacted me through my email- matthewtuckey@hotmail.com with this piece on group therapy in the States. It's a gem. 

University is meant to be the most enjoyable time of our lives. Those three years of partying, socialising and exploring ourselves to excess are unlike any other and, for the majority of adults; they’d go back to it in a heartbeat. For Bertie, however, his reality was very different.

Bertie hated university. He saw everyone socialising around him but felt like he couldn’t connect with anyone. Despite going to three different universities, Bertie still couldn’t safely settle and ended up in a very dark, isolated place inside of himself.

With no friends, a non-existent love life, and severe anxiety and depression, Bertie found himself becoming a recluse and spending an unhealthy amount of time online. He spent hours browsing YouTube and lurking in the dark corners of Reddit threads, seeking some form of escape and solace from the stressful foreign world going on around him. The internet addiction Bertie had was crippling – it was taking over Bertie’s life in ways he didn’t realise, pushing him further and further away from relationships, work, and studies. He was slowly and slowly slipping into an almost in-human state, becoming only excited and enthused when he was online.

Frustrated by his lack of purpose and direction, Bertie began reading self-help books and became inspired to attend a men’s group. After trying a few different groups, Bertie ended up at Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz’s MenSpeak men’s group. He took his time to commit to a closed group and dipped in and out of open sessions, but Bertie eventually stuck with it and quickly became an enthusiastic regular.

Bertie says that he liked Kenny’s laid-back approach, the fact that he puts the emphasis on the individual and doesn’t hold their hand and go into unnecessary detail with every painful life story as a traditional therapist might. He got suicidal at times, booked private sessions with Kenny and found himself with new perspectives and tools making peace with his issues and emotionally opening up to the great personality that needed the space to emerge from inside of him. Through the MenSpeak groups, Bertie began making close friends and found a purpose to his life. After a huge drought, his dating life began to prosper and his issue with depression, anxiety and internet addiction began to decrease. 

 

Not only did Kenny’s men’s groups and private sessions turn around Bertie’s issues, but they also gave him a purpose and a career. He’s trained to facilitate his own men’s and boys’ groups that he’s taking to schools and universities in order to help students that are dealing with similar issues to what Bertie faced. For Bertie, not only did Kenny’s influence change his life, but it gave him the power to pass on the tools to others. At 25, Bertie is going to be trustee of the MenSpeak charity, training others to pass it on in their own communities, perhaps to put right for others what wasn’t right for him.

About Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz

Known as ‘The Man Whisperer’, Kenny Mammarella-D’Cruz is a personal development consultant whose sole aim is to get to the bottom of men’s issues. After taking up ‘man of the household’ duty at the age of seven due to familial struggles with the Ugandan secret service, Kenny struggled further with mental health issues like OCD and Tourette’s for most of his adult life before overcoming them.

Kenny then travelled the world and tried his hand at shark-feeding, fire-walking, and managed a spell working with the divine Mother Theresa in Calcutta, only realising later in life that he was subconsciously trying to fill a hole he had within. Now back in the U.K, Kenny uses his tools and experiences to work with men, improving their mental health issues, and navigating issues like toxic masculinity, wealth embarrassment, and the infamous mid-life crisis.

Hosting weekly MenSpeak men’s groups, private sessions, workshops, and training seminars, Kenny hopes his unique methods will result in a whole new man – one who is free, confident, and able to succeed.