08/25/2023

Understanding That Mental-health Content About Which You're Being Bombarded on Social Media

Watch out for these six red flags

The classic vision of therapy revolved around a person on a couch, supine, tapping into their deepest and darkest hopes and fears. A modern-day remix might look like this: a person still on a couch, but at home, scrolling through a constantly refreshing selection of mental-health content on social-media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Though it may feel therapeutic, experts advise proceeding with caution. As an increasing number of psychologists step into the role of mental-health influencer, opening the door to fame and financial incentives, their posts—on attachment styles or unresolved trauma or whatever else might be the disorder du jour—are reaching millions of people.

There are certainly benefits: "We're coming out of a time when mental health was very highly stigmatized, and it kept people from seeking treatment," said Evelyn Hunter, a counseling psychologist in Auburn, Ala. "Social media has removed that in some ways, and normalized the fact that sometimes we struggle."

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.