The benefits of mindfulness meditation have very quickly become one of the good-news mental health stories of our time. But meditation also has a shadowy seam. Is there a link between some forms of mental illness and the freedom promised at the heart of meditation? Psychology Tomorrow columnist Jeff Warren reports.

There may be no bigger male shadow cast over the worlds of psychology and art than Sigmund Freud and his grandson Lucian. Jane McAdam Freud stepped out of the shadows her great-grandfather and father and distinguished own her identity.

Previl’s impressive collection, An Artist’s Shoes (2013), is comprised of 70 paintings of different sneakers. The work raises issues surrounding masculinity and race, consumerism, social responsibility, and violence.

The British company BalletBoyz celebrates the male form and all that defines what it means to be masculine - sheer physicality and and daringness - yet, these dancers have a dynamic sensuality that explores androgyny with tactile corporeality.

Despite popular beliefs our true sexual desires defy categories of feminine or masculine. The feelings, thoughts and images that make us orgasm are uniquely individual and based in our personal histories.

At eleven-years-old Frank Spinelli became a Boy Scout and taken under the wing of Scoutmaster Bill Fox, who sexually and mentally abused him. Thirty years later, Frank learns his former Scoutmaster has adopted fifteen boys in the decades since.

Tomas Nemec’s paintings record a dairy of masculine emotions. Varying the intensity of his brush strokes, the subtlety or vibrancy of colors, and the level of sexual charge, figures inspired by friends and places from Nemec’s own life are captured in different contexts, from the bedroom to sofa.

In Boge’s art, he have chosen a process/methodology of working: the art is about the act of showing to tell, then saying to tell: “I keep changing my mind as to how to tell what I want to say. Art as an excuse for talking.”

Many men who attempt to conform to traditional expectations of masculinity are harmed by their sense of failure or illegitimacy. For some it leads to suicide attempts and hospitalization and misdiagnosis. For a few, like Adam Neal, it also leads to personal triumph.

Psychoanalyst Dr. Velleda Ceccoli chronicles the changes in ideas about masculinity through the iconic character of James Bond. Ceccoli puts ideas of masculinity in context explaining psychoanalytic and cultural theories as it relates to a shift in our concept of what it is to be a man.

Using colored cardboard hand-cut with X-Acto knives, Rainone creates works that are multilayered portraits and figures of men. Simple, precise and posed, their construction reflects the vicissitudes of masculinity: despite a polished surface, underneath there is a great deal of complexity and depth.

Last month, Alek Sandar decided to find out how far he could push the limits of his comfort zone by agreeing to pose nude for a figure drawing session. He learned a few important lessons.

How do definitions of masculinity affect therapy? In addressing her own hesitation in working with men, Alyssa Siegel gives us the opportunity to examine the male/female power dynamic in therapy.

Close relations between two men unite the poems by Scott Bailey and David McLoghlin. Poetry-editor Charif Shanahan writes: “Those intimacies, though wildly different in nature, equally interrogate the role of silence in expressions of love or power between men.”

Vincent’s remarkable work questions the qualities of gender by considering what constitutes masculine and feminine. It critiques stereotypical gender mediums by creating "masculine objects" using "feminine processes" such as crochet, sewing, and applique.

The tie was once referred to as “the yolk of responsibility.” Designer Thom Browne created a revolution, reinterpreting men’s suits through a highly tailored look and reforming traditional masculine notions of strictness, rigidity, and conservatism.

"I know this moment. My father looks at me and says five words, five mean, hurtful words, and I am crushed... To this abusive moment with me he brings his own history of abuse. This time is different though..."