Tiktok Therapy: Benefits and Cautions
The other day in a session, as I was trying to recall where I had recently heard about a specific symptom a client of mine was describing, I awkwardly realized I had just watched a video about it on Tiktok. Luckily, this happened with a Gen Z client who had taken to sending me relevant Tiktok videos in between sessions and we had a laugh together about my realization. A year ago, I could have never imagined saying “I saw it on Tiktok” in relation to mental health. Now, I find that more and more therapists are on Tiktok, and more and more clients come to session referencing videos they’ve seen. This realization got me wondering about the benefits and drawbacks of #tiktoktherapy, a hashtag that has 761 Million views. Here are some benefits and some drawbacks and cautions about Tiktok Therapy.
Benefits: What Tiktok Therapy Is
Reducing Stigma
Though stigma around mental health is fading, many individuals and cultures have a negative association with therapy and asking for help. This sense of shame and lack of understanding leads to many not getting the help they need. However, Tiktok videos and social media in general can serve an important role in that de-stigmatization. Individuals in certain cultural groups may not have spoken about mental health in their families, so seeing a video posted by someone who they identify with can be incredibly validating and freeing. The more information that circulates, the more normalized speaking about mental health becomes. Tiktok videos like this one that speak about experiences in therapy and knowledge learned in sessions, create a dialogue that feels safer, widespread, and shameless.
Increasing Accessibility
Not everybody has access to professional help, and far too many individuals do not get the help they need due to lack of resources or accessibility. Let’s face it- even though therapy is a great investment in yourself, it’s just not financially feasible for everyone in every season of life. However, many people have smartphones that have access to free apps like Tiktok. Tiktok creates a platform for users to post and consume information about mental health that they may have never been exposed to otherwise. Licensed therapists post videos that provide helpful and even lifesaving coping skills that are easy to digest, safe, and free such as the one I’m linking here.
Infusing personality to normalize
Many people still hold the image of a therapist as someone who is serious, formal, and all around a blank slate. Therapists are people too, and we have personalities and senses of humor! When we think about mental health and therapy, we don’t usually link them to humor and laughter. However, videos that speak about therapy with levity make the process feel less daunting and give important education about how the process is vs. expectations. People can feel much more comfortable approaching therapy after watching videos where therapists talk about their own awkward moments in session or funny stories, like in this video.
Cautions: What Tiktok Therapy is Not
Titok Therapy is not a Diagnoses
Have you ever read your daily horoscope and immediately thought “That’s totally me!”? When we are looking for answers and information, it’s easy to feel like general qualities are accurate and specifically tailored. The Barnum effect is described as “the psychological phenomenon that explains why individuals believe in generalized personality descriptions as if they are accurate descriptions of their unique personality. Put simply, Barnum Effect refers to our tendency to think that “the information provided about our personalities is about us regardless of its generalizability.” This effect is also common when we read or hear the criteria for a specific diagnosis. For example, many people experience anxiety, because it’s a naturally occurring human emotion like sadness and happiness, and it can be helpful to understand what the feeling is and how to cope with it. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a diagnosable case of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Remember, a diagnosis requires a human to human interaction with a professional who knows you and has experience diagnosing and treating mental health disorders. The tiktok algorithm displays videos related to recent searches on your smartphone or recent videos watched, which can lead to an echo chamber of information that can heighten our belief that we fit into a certain category. If you are wondering about symptoms you are experiencing, many therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and doctors are available to help.
Tiktok Therapy is not a replacement for therapy or medical care:
Though there are many qualified therapists and professionals on Tiktok, there are also many users sharing their own personal experience. Most people watching a video don’t spend much time fact-checking the source, so misinformation from a seemingly reliable professional can be spread easily. And since so much of the benefit of these videos is the sense of universality, the flip side is that the information is not targeted to the specific symptoms, goals, and individual needs of each client. A 30 second video cannot be a replacement for getting the actual help you need, even though it may be the step that inspires you to reach out to a therapist for help.
If something on TikTok piqued your interest in your mental health and you’d like to explore deeper, the therapists at Root to Rise Therapy are here to provide professional help and support, and yes, humor too! Contact our Client Care Coordinator today to get started!
Warmly,
Jessica, LMFT
