Earlier today Dr Alex George, the A&E doctor who rose to fame on ITV’s Love Island, was appointed Youth Mental Health Ambassador by Boris Johnson. “I will be working with the Government to make mental health a priority, for both current and future generations,” tweeted George to his 192,000 Twitter followers. “Now more than ever we realise how fundamental this is. It’s time for change.”
George’s appointment follows the rise of mental health professionals going online in a bid to soothe an anxious generation. Take clinical psychologist Dr Julie Smith, who recently asked her 2.5 million TikTok followers whether they knew what the most common signs of high-functioning anxiety are: “Constant worry; preoccupation with fear of judgment and failure; workaholism; irritability; perfectionism; restlessness; constant dissatisfaction; relentless self-criticism; overthinking everything.” The short clip, set against a peppy remix, has been viewed 1.4 million times on her account with the hashtag #mentalhealthawareness.
Welcome to the world of TikTok therapy. Not so long ago therapy was confined to an hour-long counselling session on a sofa; now you can access free advice on TikTok in under a minute. TikTok is a video-sharing social networking site that has 1 billion monthly users and takes the form of short videos, often memes, dances or comedy sketches, typically lasting around 60 seconds.
Yet TikTok therapists tackle topics including childhood trauma, gaslighting and high-functioning depression. Short clips with the hashtag #TherapistsOfTikTok have been watched more than 105.6 million times, with therapists gaining huge, impressionable audiences by creating snappy videos where they dance while explaining symptoms of imposter syndrome.
Perhaps this new trend is growing because it offers easy bite-size answers to big complex questions? Or maybe it’s because young people are currently looking for a little extra support?
The problem with TikTok, however, is that the videos have to be under 60 seconds, which begs the question, are serious mental health illnesses being reduced to brief soundbites with quick – and sometimes inaccurate – fixes from unqualified non-professionals? And with the average age of TikTok users between 18 and 24, how helpful is TikTok therapy?
“When I first started creating mental health content, I didn’t expect anyone to listen – especially when there’s all that singing and dancing on TikTok,” explains Smith, who runs a private practice in Hampshire. “But it turns out that people are hungry for this sort of information about how to manage their mood and emotion on a day-to-day basis.”
@drjuliesmith Make sure to tag a friend 💖 Follow for more. #mentalhealthawarness #learnontiktok #backtouni #selfhelp #tiktokpsychologist #tiktoktherapist
♬ Pieces - Danilo Stankovic
Another concern is that these viral videos are increasing the risk of self-diagnosis – but Smith thinks that’s a positive thing. “I’ve had people reach out to say: ‘Thank you so much – you’ve encouraged me to seek help,’ or ‘I called my doctor and I booked my first therapy appointment’.”
She compares being able to self-diagnose a mental health problem to self-diagnosing a common cold. “It [mental health] is not any different to any other medical information that’s accessible online,” she says. “If you want to find out about the symptoms of a cold, you can look it up online. That’s not a risk because you can’t do much with that information until you get to the doctor anyway. But it encourages someone to think: I’ve got an infection, I’m going to see a doctor. So I’m not concerned about someone self-diagnosing or thinking ‘I’m going to go see a doctor’, because to me that’s a positive.
“I’m not an influencer who happens to be talking about mental health; the reason I created my account in the first place was to educate and create mental health awareness.”
So what about those making TikTok therapy videos without Smith’s qualifications? “There are lots of people out there without any – maybe they just read a self-help book and decided to make a business out of it. That’s why I know offering good-quality, evidence-based information is needed because otherwise people would potentially look to less qualified people online,” says Smith.
The line between educating people about mental health through social media and offering advice can be a tricky one to tread. To avoid any ethical and legal issues, TikTok therapists tend not to accept any direct messages or respond to comments on their videos. Smith clearly states: “Not Therapy, No Advice Via DM” in her Instagram profile. “I can’t give individual advice without assessing someone, so I’m very clear that what I’m doing is education and not therapy,” she says.
Micheline Maalouf, a licensed mental health counsellor from Orlando, Florida, who has 1 million followers on TikTok under the username @mashmushe, describes the daily influx of messages she receives as “overwhelming”. She often receives hundreds of messages each day from people sharing their traumas.
“This is the most challenging part,” she says. “When I first started creating videos on TikTok a year ago, I was shocked about how many direct messages I received asking for help. Initially I created a template answer, telling people how to get help and the numbers of national helplines. But as my following grew, the messages increased – I just couldn’t look at them all.”
Maalouf is part of a private Facebook group created especially for TikTok therapists to support one another on the challenges and dilemmas they face when creating triggering content. “We all agreed on how we would handle the situation and decided none of us should answer DMs – they can be a false sense of support for people,” she explains.
@micheline.maalouf Welcome to mental health TikTok! I’ll take care of you 🖤 #anxiety #trauma #fyp #tiktoktherapy
♬ New Soul (Remix) #2 - Various Artists
While some therapists on TikTok are just aiming to open up the conversation around mental health, others – like Maalouf – have used their ever-growing following as a business platform and an opportunity to expand their client base. “TikTok has changed my practice – people see the tips, they relate to me and then reach out for therapy with me. I now have a full caseload with a waiting list, I’ve hired a therapist and I’m currently working on hiring another,” she says.
To offset any concerns of over-simplifying complex topics, Maalouf recently launched a podcast with psychotherapist and co-host Nadia Addesi, Anxious Like You, where they discuss some of the more challenging topics in more than 60-second snippets. “We wanted to talk about some of these topics in much more depth – to talk about our own struggles and interview celebrity guests about their anxieties too,” she explains.
Yet despite concerns, the comments on TikTok therapy videos like Smith’s and Maalouf’s are filled with praise. “I love your energy,” reads one. “Thanks for the knowledge, this is so helpful,” reads another.
Rachel*, 23, is a regular TikTok user and says she finds the videos very relatable: “If you see a video discussing anxiety or family trauma it can help you acknowledge and discuss topics you might not feel safe to do in other places. It makes me feel less alone. Of course, you can’t get the same out of a 60-second TikTok video as an hour of therapy, but I think the fact that therapy is being actively and openly encouraged to teenagers and twentysomethings is a good thing.”
Rosie Weatherley from mental health charity Mind says: “Social media can be good for our mental health, helping people feel less isolated, and share their experiences with others who might be struggling with similar problems. Using online resources can also help us to find out more information about mental health problems, including symptoms and treatment options.
“We’ve seen some great mental health content on TikTok – videos that are empathetic, de-stigmatising, normalising and accessible. However, it’s important to remember that not all the information you find online will be reliable and it can be useful to ask yourself some questions including who is sharing it and why? Are they a reliable source and is the information up to date?
“If you’re looking for reliable information about mental health diagnoses and treatments, Mind has lots of information available on its website. You could also look at the NHS website or ask your GP.
“If you feel like you are experiencing problems with your mental health, speak to someone you trust, like a friend, family member or your GP.”
*The name has been changed
