As students in high school, we start to notice that people always seem to have something negative to say. When it comes to things like therapy, some people of any age and generation believe it’s embarrassing, or unhelpful, or it shows that you are different from everyone else solely because you attend counseling. We have all heard differing perspectives, so Rampage wanted to dive deeper into what the reason for this bias is, and what people with opposing viewpoints believe about seeking mental health help.
Brynn Jones, a junior at Grayslake Central, says that this stigma comes from the belief that therapy is “cringey,” which usually stems from social media trends or posts that warp people’s views. When asked if it is hard to speak up about mental health in general, Jones said, “Yeah, because a lot of people filter it as a cringey thing, but personally I feel like everyone should speak up about their health because it creates an emotional friendship between people.” She said that social media plays a huge role in the stigma that surrounds therapy. “As we grow older, I feel like especially when social media is around, we take things like going to therapy as being cringey or just them being sad, and you can’t be happy all the time.” Jones also says that therapy is misunderstood. “You don’t have to just go to therapy for depression, some people go to help with their focus, like me, and I feel like everyone needs therapy at some point in their life.”
Another student, junior Autumn Lichtenstein, also believes that this stigma exists. When asked why she thinks this is, Lichtenstein said, “People assume that if you go to therapy then there’s something wrong with you, when a lot of times, they go because they just need someone to talk to.” She says that social media can both contribute to this stigma but also can help with getting rid of it. “I think it contributes to the stigma, but I also think it has helped it to be a more open thing,” said Lichtenstein.
Grayslake Central counselor Kellen Price believes that there is a somewhat present stigma around therapy. He said, “I like to think the stigma is becoming less prevalent since therapy’s becoming more accepted… but there are some people that think therapy is unnecessary for sure.” He thinks that anyone can benefit from therapy because it helps us learn more about ourselves. For the people who have less access to therapy, he recommends going through universities’ counseling graduate program and finding someone who is studying counseling. He also said that GCHS does a pretty good job with spreading information and resources regarding therapy and mental health. He said, “We’re able to work with students and their families if they are interested in an outside therapy… just to tell them what their options are. That’s a huge resource.”
Knowing these different perspectives, we can see that the stigma is based around misunderstandings and bias. If we can work on understanding something fully without judging it, we can shatter this stigma sooner. If one feels as though they can’t access counseling, they have many resources available through the school or online that can help them.
