Following the recent Grammy Awards, Madonna, who was harshly criticized for her appearance, addressed the stress of ageism in an Instagram post, “Once again, I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in.”1
Years earlier, Lady Gaga, in her acceptance speech at the 2019 awards show, expressed gratitude for being able to work on the movie, A Star Is Born, which addressed mental health issues.
As someone who trains counselors, this type of awareness-raising in popular culture moments is necessary and makes it easier for regular people to talk about their mental health needs. Still, it is important that the conversation doesn’t end there.
The effects of increased awareness without professional insight
Many celebrities realize the importance of using their platform to bring attention to often hidden problems. Yet conversations on mental health in the public discourse can be very challenging when words like trauma, anxiety, and self-care have become so commonplace. Self-diagnosis has become more popular as more people begin to talk openly about their symptoms.
Many clinicians have also found that self-medicating follows a similar trend, as new research shows cannabis use has become more widely legalized and accepted. Another study showed that as much as 24 percent of the population has used substances to relieve symptoms of anxiety or mood disorders. The same study found that those who self-medicate these conditions are more likely to develop substance use disorders.
Many people have their own favorite TikTok therapists who speak wonderful aphorisms into their lives for followers to like and repost.
Increased awareness and efforts to destigmatize mental illness are wonderful because it helps people think more directly and intentionally about their mental well-being and psychological needs. Ideally, increased awareness should lead to conversations with a mental health professional.
The benefits of tailored mental health treatment
One of the greatest strengths of therapy is its ability to offer bespoke treatment plans that are a result of direct collaboration with a trained therapist. An individualized treatment plan is based on an intimate understanding of intersecting identities with careful consideration of an individual’s unique cultural lens.
Without tailored treatment, the tendency is for popular mental health narratives to relay practices that are disproportionately developed by White-biased practitioners, over-reliant on medication, or neglecting systemic contributors to mental problems. Frequently those narratives normalize the symptoms of mental illness and thus diminish the experiences of people suffering from debilitating disorders.
Mental health narratives more often reflect the zeitgeist rather than what is affecting people individually. Many times, these conversations are framed by mental pathology and attempt to "fix" people or the problems in their lives.
But therapy is great for addressing myriad conditions of everyday life. A personal counselor can be instrumental in helping someone distinguish which problems in their lives have pathological origins and which might be better explained through social or developmental factors.
In 2021, over 41 million Americans sought mental health services. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that in 2020, of adults with mental illness in the U.S., only 46 percent of them sought treatment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that there are approximately 781,830 counselors in the country, not including social workers, psychologists, and other behavioral health professionals.
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Partitioning the Rainbow: The Influence of Culture on Color Mental health counselors take an approach that focuses on improving health and well-being. While diagnostic skills are important for clinicians, an over-emphasis on diagnosable conditions can compel people to believe that they need to have a disorder to receive treatment (or worse, that they have a disorder when they don’t).
Health professionals would never suggest a person needs physical ailment to see a physician; routine physical and preventative healthcare has life-long benefits. The same is true for mental healthcare in a model of wellness that prioritizes an individual’s unique needs and intrinsic ability to grow.
To be sure, counseling professionals advocate for individualized, person-centered care, largely due to the influence of the postmodern therapists of the mid-20th century who emphasized the importance of individual lived experiences.
Part of an evolving conversation around mental health in the 21st century includes a discussion on the impact of large-scale social problems. Today’s clients are increasingly isolated by social media, over-stressed by a culture of hustle, and depressed by social injustices on an ever-increasing scale.
With so many different social determinants of mental health, public discourse on mental health must continue to evolve and proliferate. Because of unique and systemic challenges, it is important for people to find solutions that work for themselves within their communities and focus on the strengths they bring to therapy and not just the problems.
As conversations about mental health become more widespread in schools, culture, and politics, it is important that mental health professionals actively help shape the dialogue. Most important, it is imperative that people know that they don’t have to sort out their problems alone in frantic Google searches of their symptoms or through online quizzes.
Celebrities and artists from G Herbo to Bruce Springsteen are doing their part to make it easier for everyone to talk about mental health. It is up to individuals to take courageous next steps in seeking professional help.
In his recent acceptance speech for Best Actor at the Critics Choice awards, Brendan Fraser, who plays a character struggling with physical and mental health issues, said, "If you're like Charlie, who I played in this movie, in any way, struggle with obesity, or you just feel like you're in a dark sea—I want you to know that if you can just get to your feet and go to the light, good things will happen.”2
To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.