Celebrities who have gone to therapy: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Jesy Nelson, Zendaya and more

09 May 2022 – 08:31 CET

Orin Carlin

We take a look at 10 celebrities who shared their therapy experiences at Mental Health Awareness Week

Takes care of yours Mental health is hugely important throughout the year, but Mental Health Awareness Week provides a much-needed opportunity to take a moment and reflect. Paying attention to the conversation and working to reduce the stigma can benefit everyone.

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One in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem each year and yet we are still learning how best to support ourselves and others.

Scarlett Moffatt is guest editor of our digital mental health edition

In honor of HELLO!‘s Digital mental health problem Guest edited by Scarlett Moffattlet’s take a closer look at some of the public figures who have opened up about their experiences with therapy, including Prince Harry, Jay Z and zendaya.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry is known for his openness about his grieving experience. That tragic death of his mother Princess Diana had devastating effects on his personal life. years later, Inspired by wife Meghan Markle, he went into therapy. As part of his mental health-focused documentaries with Oprah Winfrey, The Me You Can’t See, Harry actually tried EMDR therapy on camera.

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Reflecting on his emotional journey, he said, “One of the greatest lessons I’ve ever learned in life is that sometimes you have to go back and deal with really uncomfortable situations and process them in order to be able to heal. “

Megan Markle

That Duchess of Sussex encouraged Prince Harry to seek help following her own positive experience with therapy. After suffering the sadness of a miscarriageShe wrote a heartfelt letter for The New York Times in 2020 advocating speaking out when you’re struggling mentally.

“Losing a child means bearing an almost unbearable grief experienced by many but shared by few,” she wrote. “Some have bravely shared their stories; they opened the door because they knew that when one person speaks the truth, it gives us all permission to do the same.”

RELATED: Where to Access Mental Health Support: A Helpful Guide

Jennifer Aniston

The A-lister has used therapy to cope with the challenges of stardom, telling PEOPLE in 2021 that “confidence is key.”

jennifer has been vocal about how much it’s impacted her life, explaining, “I’ve really gotten a lot out of therapy. Just being a public person entails many amazing things. But there’s also a lot of hard stuff because we’re only human and we tend to walk around with bullseyes on our heads.”

Frankie Bridge

The former The Saturdays singer has been candid about her experiences with anxiety and depression and the tools she has at her disposal to manage her mental health.

“I still take medication, I still go to therapy when I need it.” frankie told HuffPost UK in 2020. “They allow me to cope with daily life and enjoy my life as much as possible. As long as I’m doing this, I’ll do both.” After getting professional help, she has found that those “dark days” are “much less common than they used to be.”

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Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato was refreshingly candid about her struggles with depression, bulimia and substance abuse. Growing up in the public eye, they often felt scrutinized and turned to unhealthy habits to deal with it. “Therapy helped me unlock my voice and find freedom,” they said in a 2020 video. “An inner freedom I’ve been looking for since a very young age.”

The ex-Disney actor is now using his platform to help break down the stigma surrounding therapy and advocate for more accessible mental health support.

zendaya

The Euphoria star is a big advocate for professional mental health support and has been honest about how the pandemic has affected her.

“Of course I’m going to therapy” zendaya told British Vogue in 2021. “If anyone is able to raise the financial means to go into therapy, I would encourage them to do so. I think it’s a beautiful thing that can help you, someone who can talk to you, who isn’t your mother or whatever, who isn’t prejudiced.”

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Jay Z

Global Superstar Jay Z is another celebrity who has benefited from speaking about his feelings. A tough childhood meant he took a hardened attitude to surviving growing up in Brooklyn.

Speaking about how therapy transformed his life, he told The New York Times in 2017 that he’d “grown so much from the experience” and that “the strongest thing a man can do is cry.” He continued, “Explaining his feelings about being vulnerable in front of the world. That’s real strength. You know, you feel like you have to be that guarded person. This isn’t real. It is wrong.”

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Olli Alexander

It’s A Sin star Olly Alexander has opened up about how he struggled with bulimia and self-harm during his high school days.

“Anyone who isn’t straight can tell you that not fitting into the social norm can be a really difficult and traumatic experience,” the Years & Years frontman told DAZED in 2016. “I’ve spent the last few years really working on my mental health and trying to get better support. I was cared for by the NHS and privately,” he revealed.

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Jesy Nelson

When she appeared on The X Factor in 2011, the pop star constantly compared herself to her colleague Small mix bandmates.

Public admission of corrosive abuse she would receive on social media, jessie visited a body image therapist as part of her 2019 ` documentary Odd One Out. She still feels anxious from time to time, admitting on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast in 2021, “I’ll never sit and lie and be like, ‘Oh, I’m so happy now, I have no insecurities! ‘ because that’s an absolute lie. I still have my insecurities, I still have my struggles…”

MORE: Jesy Nelson reveals health issues before asking fans for help

Alex Scott MBE

Speaking of HELLO!‘s Kindness Summit in 2020, the former professional footballer shared how online trolling, triggered by switching to presenting, was taking its toll on her mental health.

Therapy helped Alex realizing that in reality “it’s a small percentage of people who bother to do this” and that “there are so many people who are after me and support me”. Looking back on the impact of professional help, she said, “From such a negative situation, I still look at the positives that it has actually given me and my life.”

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