Seeking to help men cope with the stresses, strains, and challenges of modern society, one local counsellor has turned to a philosophy emphasising forbearance, self-denial, and self-control that was developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Now running a weekly course teaching the life lessons of the Stoics to a group of interested blokes, Philip Worrad from the Rural Advisory Mental Health Program (RAMPH), believes there’s much their approach has to offer the men of today. (See our separate article in this week's Orange City Life, free to pick up and also available as a digital edition online.)

Expanding on his outreach, he is also running one-off courses at Parkes and Forbes to introduce this discipline — based upon some very counter-cultural ideals including connection, family, honesty, and wisdom — to those of us who may be sick of the incessant “me, me, me-ism” of the 21st century.

Called 'Living Stoicism Today' the course flyer describes the program as “a practical philosophy of life, designed to help you grow in the virtues wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance.”

It is all part of Worrad's work with RAMPH as a rural and remote NSW counsellor under the auspices of NSW Health, designed to improve the mental wellbeing of blokes in the bush.

“The course is something I came up with as part of that role; in order to serve the needs of our areas, we can tailor packages for individual groups,” he explained.

“For this course itself, I saw the need for men to live better lives and to live more effectively, it started after a conversation with David Littlefield (from Littlefield’s Boxing),” he added.

Running the courses firstly at their family gym with the title 'Stoic Man — Strong People keep learning how to be better', they have now moved to the Senior Village Hub in Byng Street each Monday evening.

“My background is in education and mental health… I’ve also done studies in philosophy and theology (religion) and, when I was reading about stoicism, this struck a chord with my own training.

“I saw a lot of the commonalities in resilience-building, with the wisdom of the stoics of Ancient Rome and Greece. Marcus Aurelius was one of the most famous stoics, and he was emperor.”

In our celebrity-obsessed world of vacuous social media personalities and instant gratification, he said that the ancients have much to teach us.

“It looks at that way of how to be ‘the better man’, when you turn the other cheek, to do so with wisdom and courage.

“What is truly important and how, as an individual, to keep yourself alive with the type of man you want to be,” Worrad revealed.

A fan of the 'John Wick' action-movie series, he uses the character played by Keanu Reeves as an example. Wick, a retired hitman, seeks revenge on his tormentors in a series of increasingly bloody showdowns after the killing of his dead wife’s gift of a pet dog.

“We can understand his grief, but we can’t agree with how he goes about it. He wants to be a Stoic, but he can’t let go of his past,” he said.

“A lot of guys don’t know how to be the better man, under provocation, they tend to be violent, aggressive, or confrontational; our aim is to teach how to be the man who understands true courage and inner strength,” he concluded.

Free at the Senior Village Hub in Byng Street each Monday evening from 6–7pm, simply drop in anytime. For more information on the 'Stoic Man' program, contact: Philip.Worrad@health.nsw.gov.au or scan the code below.