4 TikTok Therapists You Need to Follow If You Struggle With Your Mental Health
Editor's Note
Do you use humor to cope? The Mental Health Memes group is for you.
Similar to Vine, TikTok has become the new social media rage over this year. It tends to be used primarily by teenagers, but is becoming increasingly popular across all age groups. Young adults, celebrities, “TikTok moms” and even the elderly are all sharing videos. I finally caved in and joined a few months ago and let me tell you, if there is anything bringing in some extra serotonin during this quarantine, it’s this app. I find myself laughing, crying, trying to dance and feeling understood by my fellow users. Among the many users of this app, there are mental health professionals using the platform to spread awareness and help those who are struggling — they refer to themselves as “TikTok therapists.”
Since stumbling across these therapists, I have found so much hope in their videos. If you’re struggling with your mental health right now, these TikTok therapists are here for you, especially during this pandemic. Several have even come together for Mental Health Awareness Month introducing themselves in a video and showing their solidarity in standing together with us during this time.
This is hands-down my favorite TikTok therapist account. She is a therapist for children and adolescents, but her videos address all sorts of different mental illnesses and ways to improve your mental health. She also talks about dealing with parents of clients and the battle that can bring. I felt extremely connected to her because she is the type of therapist I wish I had when I was a teenager. I was forced into therapy at a young age with therapists who would constantly tell my parents everything and miscommunicate to me what was going on. It kept me from ever seeking treatment again for years (when I desperately needed it). Many of her videos focus on building confidence and self-esteem, and she does her best to always reply to the comments on her videos. (I’m also low-key obsessed with her accent.)
2. @25therapy
This TikTok therapist, Cori, is also one of my absolute favorites (and she’s hilarious). Her videos focus a lot on overcoming trauma, setting boundaries and leaving unhealthy and/or abusive relationships. My favorite thing about Cori is how real she is — this woman keeps it straight with you like no other. I constantly feel myself called out (in the best way) by her videos, and it helps me keep myself in check. She also shares stories a lot, which are super fun to listen to. I have only just recently finally started to process and unpack all the trauma I have from growing up in an emotionally abusive household, so her videos help me so much as I continue through this journey.
I just found this account recently, but I’ve felt so seen and understood since following her. Dr. Julie Smith calmly talks and validates what you’re feeling in her videos, and gives you tips for managing your mental health. Every time I watch one of her videos, I feel relaxed by her voice and comforted in how seen she makes me feel. Many of her videos focus on anxiety, building self-esteem and making sure you know you are not alone.
Nadia is a TikTok therapist here to spread awareness about mental illness! Her videos also focus a lot on anxiety and familial relationships, along with what therapy is like. She’s also super real and talks about her own experiences with anxiety, which can be comforting to those who may feel like therapists are “judging” them.
Those are four of my personal favorite TikTok therapists, but there are so many more! These are a few other TikTok accounts that have helped me so much with my mental health, but who aren’t necessarily therapists:
1. @themadivlog
Referring to herself as Mental Health Ms. Madi, this mental health advocate works at a kid’s psychiatric hospital and uses her experiences to help others all over. She encourages you to reach out and find support, gives tips for managing self-harm urges and anxiety attacks and is just here to support you! If you feel like you have no one, Madi is here to prove you wrong — she’s there when you relapse, when you need to talk and when you just need a reason to wake up the next morning. She was the first mental health related account I found and I continue to find myself crying with how comforted and understood she makes me feel with her videos.
Claire is actually a dietician, but her videos continue to give me daily support with my eating disorder. She brands herself as a “non-diet dietician,” and I absolutely love how she describes that. She isn’t here to tell you to restrict, cut out food groups or go on extreme diets. In fact, the encourages the exact opposite. Her videos focus on intuitive eating, allowing yourself to eat without feeling guilty and myth-busting diet talks.
I know I am so thankful for all of these people who take time out of their lives to promote mental health awareness and support those struggling. Definitely check these people out, and let me know if there are others I missed!
Through multiple suicide attempts, living with depression, PTSD, and anxiety for over 10 years now, and having struggled with anorexia and bulimia-- I have a much closer relationship with mental illness than I'd like. But I believe in community and that we need each other. I believe in hope and that better days are ahead. I believe in the kindness of people. And I believe continuing to show up (for yourself and others) when everything is pointing the opposite way, is one of the bravest things a person can do. https://medium.com/@sky_taylor
sky_taylor