Most Americans say they would be comfortable sharing that they are in therapy and describe therapy as beneficial, but less than 1 in 4 are actually in treatment, according to a recent survey.
Thriveworks, a mental health provider with 340 offices across the country, including four in Philadelphia, commissioned the online survey of more than 2,000 people in November.
But though 88% of respondents said they would be willing to tell someone they were in treatment and 87% reported benefits from therapy, only 23% of respondents said they were currently receiving some form of mental health counseling.
This data point was surprising to Jill Lamar, a licensed professional counselor with Thriveworks in Philadelphia – especially against the backdrop of the 2024 World Happiness Report published this month by the University of Oxford. That report showed that the United States had tumbled to 23 from 15 in terms of wellbeing among nations across the globe.
This year was the first time the U.S. had dropped from the top 10 countries since the report began in 2012. The report also said that happiness had “fallen so sharply for the young that they are now less happy than the old” in North America.
Lamar said the Thriveworks’ survey outcome showing that 43% of participants planned to see a therapist in the next 12 months was probably more indicative of overall attitudes toward mental health treatment, in large part due to the “explosion” in the demand for psychological support for young people in this country.
“I think the exposure to social media and doom scrolling is really affecting that,” Lamar said. “They’re just getting so much news about climate change and what’s going on with student loans. …
“Of course, since Facebook, there’s always been this comparison factor, which makes kids feel ‘less than’ their peers or celebrities or whatever it is they’re reading.”
Lamar said she reminds parents in therapy that they are not their children’s friends and that they need to maintain boundaries around cell phone use.
“Their role is to keep guardrails around the children so that they can proceed through life with as many successes as possible, as opposed to hitting the guardrails or going off at an exit that you hadn’t planned,” Lamar said.
The World Happiness Report’s finding that older Americans were happier than younger Americans was eye-opening, Lamar said, especially when compared to the Thriveworks’ survey, in which 58% of participants identified the rising cost of living and personal finances as the leading cause of their anxiety.
“It surprised me because I thought, ‘Well, gosh, aren’t older people worried about outliving their money? Are older people worried about Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia?” Lamar said. “Those were all the thoughts that went through my mind, but apparently, they’re really enjoying retirement!”
The World Happiness Report derives its information from expert analysis and data from a three-year average of results of Gallup Poll surveys in which respondents rate their life satisfaction on a scale of zero to 10.