8 Celebs Who've Opened Up About Therapy
- yet a study by the American Psychological Association shows one in five Americans experienced mental illness this past year alone. Despite how common seeking therapy is today, a stigma still remains. While most Americans may imagine pop-psychology reality shows when they think of celebrities in therapy, these celebrity moms opened up about the real counseling that helped them heal when the cameras were turned off.
1. Jennifer Garner
Garner is proof that even the most grounded, collected of stars still fall apart sometimes. Following her divorce from ex-hubby Scott Foley in 2003, Garner sought professional help. "I had a lot of growing up to do," Garner told Parade Magazine. "I'm still conflict-averse. I don't like to argue. But back then I wasn't able to say what I needed to say. But I had to come into my own. I thought, 'Why did this relationship not work? What part of the failure is my responsibility?' So I went to work on it. I started therapy." According to Parade, the mother of three still uses therapy to provide perspective.
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2. Victoria Beckham
Life in the spotlight, a crazy career, four kids, and a superstar husband - the former Posh Spice has a lot to deal with. When asked by Vogue UK if she's been to therapy, Beckham quickly dismissed the stigma. "Haven't most people at some time or other? I don't know if I'm balanced or deluded. I don't mean about David - him, I trust completely because we're both such talkers - but I'm quite spiritual. I'd rather turn anger into energy."
3. Brooke Shields
Shields' fight to eliminate the stigma of receiving treatment for postpartum depression gained worldwide attention upon the release of her book, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression - and again after Tom Cruise said that she doesn't "understand the history of psychiatry." In an Op/Ed published in The New York Times, the mother of two struck back by writing: "At my lowest points, I thought of swallowing a bottle of pills or jumping out the window. The drugs [Paxil], along with weekly therapy sessions, are what saved me."
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4. Busy Philipps
When we interviewed the Cougar Town star back in 2010, she was literally on her way to a therapy appointment, though the mother of one was mum about what she went for. While it's unclear what specifically brought Philipps to therapy, she did admit to New York Magazine's Vulture blog that constantly feeling disrespected is "something that I talk about in therapy all the time."
5. Catherine Zeta-Jones
Zeta-Jones didn't set out to become a bipolar II disorder treatment advocate, but that's what happened when the Chicago star and mother of two was admitted to a mental health facility for it back in 2011. Upon leaving the facility, she told People: "This is a disorder that affects millions of people and I am one of them ... If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it. There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help."
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6. Kourtney Kardashian
The soon-to-be mother of two's tumultuous relationship with world-class wet blanket Scott Disick has been documented on the cameras time and time again. Kardashian credits couples counseling for keeping the pair together. "I think [counseling] is really important and we always love going and feel so much better after," she told People. "I think everyone should go. People are like, 'It's so expensive and this or that,' but that's more important than buying clothes or a handbag or shoes. It's your life."
7. Halle Berry
She's gorgeous; she's talented; but the road to success has been marked by personal tribulations for Berry. She admitted to Parade that she attempted suicide when her marriage to baseball player David Justice ended in 1997 and went through sex rehab with her second husband, singer Eric Benet, whom she divorced in 2005. Berry credited therapy for helping her develop invaluable coping mechanisms. "I stink at 101 things - I stink at being told what to do. I stink at taking advice from other people. I stink at marriage," she said. "But I know that I've developed really good communication skills, and that's a big part of me evolving and learning how to be in the world."
8. J.K. Rowling
Before Harry and the worldwide success that came with him, Rowling's life seemed very bleak. She had split from her first husband and was left to raise her daughter as a single mom. Contemplating suicide, Rowling eventually turning to counseling for help. "[My daughter] was something that earthed me, grounded me, and I thought: 'This isn't right, she cannot grow up with me in this state'," Rowling admitted to a student newspaper in Edinburgh that was later reprinted in the Daily Mail UK. When Rowling was invited to give the commencement speech at Harvard in 2008, the now mother of three credited her depression and subsequent recovery as the basis for her success.
- By Christina Couch
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