Victoria University lecturer Chris Bowden said everyone had a part to play to combat the high rate of suicides among men.

A mental health researcher has emphasised the role communities and individuals need to play to combat the high suicide rate, especially among men.

Of the 579 suicides in New Zealand between 2015 and 2016, 409 were men and Victoria University lecturer Chris Bowden said everyone had a part to play in reducing the high rate.

"There's no doubt about it that people who are going to those crisis services are not getting the care that they need... But I think the community does have a responsibility to play in this as well - it could be doing better," he said.

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Bowden, who completed a masters on adolescent suicide and had just submitted a PhD on young men and suicide bereavement, gave a talk in New Plymouth on Friday focusing on how to combat the "toxic" aspects of masculinity and how to instead focus on its positive aspects.

That included a shift away from the expectation that men didn't need help, they weren't emotional and they didn't talk about their feelings.

Instead, he wanted to see the positive sides reinforced such as "looking out for your mates, being loyal, persevering, having the courage and being brave enough to admit that we need support and help".

Bowden said the high proportion of men represented in the statistics showed there needed to be a change in the way men were helped.

"This is clearly a gender issue and we need what ever response we come up with in relation to suicide prevention to be gender responsive," he said.

"We're not going to get more money but could that money be used to reduce suicide in men, as clearly they're the highest risk group."

He pointed to Canada as an example where small changes, such as using a different language when talking about the issues, was introduced to target men.

"Rather than talking about counselling and therapy and self-care, which are traditionally seen as feminine terms, let's focus on things like life coaching, consultancy, skill building.

"That's the kind of language men like or prefer."

He said he began to focus his research on men after noticing they were under-represented in previous studies, but found that was because it so was difficult to find men willing to talk about the issue.

"You've got to be trustworthy, you've got to be credible, you've got to know what you're talking about for them to open up about their experiences," he said.

Bowden said he had been encouraged by the feedback he received from the men at Friday's talk who had expressed their willingness to make a change.

"Obviously there are men out there who care about men's issues," he said.

"The feedback is 'thank you for raising this issue, yes we have a problem with our guys, we do need to do better'."

Bowden, who still works in the mental health sector while teaching at the university, said there also needed to be better training about how to treat men and women differently, as they both dealt with issues differently.

"We teach a lot of professionals to be aware of the needs of a lot of cultural groups, but we do not teach people about gender responsive practice," he said.

"We don't say 'if this is a man or a woman or a transgender who walks through the door, how are you going to deal with that', we don't do that."

Where to get help:

The Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812) will refer callers to some of the helplines below:

Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354

Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757

Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116

Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666

Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.

Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email talk@youthline.co.nz

0800 WHATSUP children's helpline - phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at www.whatsup.co.nz.

Kidsline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.

Your local Rural Support Trust - 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)

Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free.

Taranaki Rural Support Trust - 027 462 7242