“Instagram Therapy” and the Dilemma of Pop Psychology

If I were writing this two years ago, my story would be much different. Before I started regular therapy, the internet was my primary resource. Going to a doctor was always expensive and slightly terrifying– especially when it came to mental healthcare.

Since I was a teenager, I had suffered from bouts of depression, suffocating social anxiety, and other issues that weren’t as easily identifiable. Mental health had always been an evaded topic in my household, and it felt like I would never find someone that could help make sense of my overwhelming inner world. So I did the best with what I had in 2013– Google and whatever resilience I already had. I found a community through social media platforms like Tumblr and “answers” through my PsychologyToday and WebMD research. I went through my adolescence and then into my undergrad, knowing I needed help but paralyzed when it came to admitting it.

All the while, mental health shifted into something people had actually started discussing openly. Calls for the de-stigmatization of mental illness grew louder. It was apparent that we had avoided these conversations for far too long. We lost famous figures and loved ones due to the ever-present societal neglect of common conditions such as depression– the leading cause of disability globally with 264 million people who suffer from it across the globe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

People started taking note of our society– one that still perpetuates a state of un-wellness and insecurity veiled as what’s “normal.”

Instagram was singled out as one of the leading social media outlets that contributed to negative body-image, self-esteem, and sleep problems. Soon, concepts like the dangers of burnout and “toxic positivity”- a term used to diminish “negative energy” and solely focus on the good– as well as the benefits of self-care and therapy, became more mainstream than ever before. And that empowered so many, myself included. These conversations were long-overdue, and many opened their minds, embracing empathy and emotional intelligence.

As the culture shifted, I excitedly moved along with it. I followed accounts that inspired me and unfollowed those that didn’t. My feed turned into a tailored space, rather than one to fit into, as I had to practice my whole life. It was freeing and actually helped my self-esteem immensely.

But along with any sort of cultural awakening, there comes the inevitable flood of slogans, eye-catching infographics, and hashtags. Mental healthcare became trendy? We found ourselves at the peak of “Instagram Therapy.”

In 2019, The New York Times published a piece titled, “Instagram Therapists are the New Instagram Poets.” Throughout the article, author Sophia June introduced some of the most popular accounts leading the charge and lauded the way therapists started guiding Instagram in a new direction,

The digital words of accounts like @thefatsextherapist, @nedratawwab and @the.holistic.psychologist are meant to encapsulate the “aha” moment of a therapy session. The best part? There’s no bill afterward.

It sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Well, yeah, a lot of this is positive. Especially since the United States’ healthcare system is often expensive and inaccessible, particularly in mental health. In fact, over 5.1 million adults with a mental illness remain uninsured in the States, as reported by Mental Health America (MHA)’s 2021 Access To Care Ranking.

According to a 2018 study by the National Council for Behavioral Health and national non-profit, Cohen Veterans Network, the nation’s mental healthcare crisis’s largest contributor is inaccessibility.

Approximately 6 in 10 Americans have sought psychological help for themselves or a loved one.However, the main barrier to this need is the high cost. The report states, “Nearly 1 in 4 Americans noted they have had to choose between getting treatment for a physical health condition and a mental health condition due to their insurance policy.” It also noted that it’s not unlikely for patients to experience long wait times or have to travel up to an hour to receive treatment. (CVN and NCBH, 2018).

Now, as I mentioned earlier, we’ve unquestionably done so much work to break down the stigma surrounding mental health issues. People are more receptive to conversations regarding wellness than we have ever been.But that same 2018 study also indicates Gen Z and Millenials’ uncertainty in finding reliable sources; these younger generations are more likely to turn to social media than more credible resources. Instagram therapy has an aspect to it that teeters on becoming tooself-help-oriented and less resource-oriented. Many of the ideas peddled around the mental health community online advocate for an individualistic outlook that ignores marginalized communities’ issues.

The most prominent example of this is the most popular Instagram therapists out there, Dr. Nicole LePera, otherwise known as @the.holistic.psychologist. LePera has a little more than 3 million followers on the platform and created a movement with them called the “Self Healers.” 

According to LePera’s website, this concept is based upon the principle that “our best healer is ourself.” It involves lifestyle changes, dismantling of the ego as we know it within ourselves, as well as popularized therapy practices like “re-parenting your inner child.” But even as these concepts borrow from both traditional and modern psychological theories and treatments, there is a particular underlying rejection of what is widely used and accepted in psychology today, like talk therapy and diagnoses of disorders.

Images: Dr. Nicole LePera @the.holistic.psychologist on Instagram.

Dr. Nicole LePera touts numerous theories that sound enticing but lack empirical evidence to substantiate her claims. For example, she frequently posts about trauma storage in the body, which has theoretical weight but has been debunked several times and has yet to be proven. She often over-simplifies terms and makes bold claims about subjects like how habits can overtake genetics in mental health. One of the most significant topics in her social media practice is her persistence that people do not have mental disorders but symptoms of trauma and programming.

Image: Dr. Nicole LePera @the.holistic.psychologist on Instagram.

She reposts the above image every so often. Although some followers will point out the rhetoric she uses is dangerous, those few comments are soon drowned out by fans and often left unaddressed by the psychology influencer. These statements that flat-out and repeatedly ring through LePera’s messaging are incredibly helpful to some but invalidating and straight-up confusing to others. 

Cognitive-behavioral therapist, psychologist, and executive director of the Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia, Marla Deibler, discussed the dangers of making such bold statements with a broad audience in a Vice article detailing @the.holistic.pyschologist’s rise on Instagram,

Left Image: Dr. Laura Mcnally, PhD, @actualpsychology on Instagram, Right Image: Azi, @the.wellness.therapist on Instagram.

Laypersons or the general population look to us as licensed professionals, as reliable guides. And it is our responsibility to provide the public with reliable, scientifically-based information. I’m of the belief that if we don’t do that, we’re negligent. That’s irresponsible and unethical.

Deibler highlights a concern that many other mental health professionals on Instagram have voiced in response to LePera’s more radical takes. Accounts like @the.wellness.therapist, @actualpsychology, and @livedexperiencecounsellor have directly responded to @the.holistic.psychologist and the problematic aspects of her page. Some have even gone so far as to correcting her posts, citing their sources.

These checks are necessary because LePera has such a firm grip on the Instagram therapy community. Her words cause more than just ripples, but waves. It’s not only her 5.2 million followers affected. The number of psychologists who actively share and promote similar theories is staggering, and these accounts flood her comment section. The #SelfHealers movement has taken a different shape than many of LePera’s initial supporters expected.

Self-healing takes one aspect of mental health and turns it into the entire method of “treatment.” While anyone can agree that self-care and personal responsibility play major roles in any form of health, it cannot be the one right answer for everyone. 

I’m not sure if anyone could take on LePera’s healing methods without going through years of therapy and mental health work first (but if you haven’t taken those steps, don’t you worry, you can join her #SelfHealersCircle for only $26 per month!). In this way, a negligent quality tinges the entire model of this practice. Healing oneself requires the ability to somehow move past very difficult circumstances to achieve inner growth, but what if the reason someone was seeking help was because of their environment?

Pushing such intense individualism onto vulnerable people seeking mental health advice and the psychology community creates a predicament.

The U.S. is already an extremely individualistic society. Personal liberty is a pillar, so much so that it’s taken into extremes. And thinking of the 5.1 million population of adults who have mental illness and cannot receive proper care, it’s harmful.

It basically perpetuates a “Bootstraps Mentality” of wellness, encouraging a mindset that goes a little like this: if you fix all these things that are wrong with you, maybe life would be easier. But we all know that is not the case.

Two physicians, Ari Hoffman and Arian Hatefi wrote a piece on this issue for the Huffington Post back in 2017, when Republican lawmakers were trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, emphasizing,

There is a 15-year gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest 1 percent of Americans, and it is widening. Self-determinism doesn’t explain it, but social contagion does: we are largely a function of our networks and environments.

This focus on personal responsibility evades the genuine issues marginalized people face every day in this country. Systemic racism and oppression will continue to exist if powerful people don’t stop straw-manning. This directly ties into our personal lives, and yes, even the Instagram pages we follow.

Both Images: Kaylee Friedman, M.A., LAC, @KayleeRoseTherapy on Instagram.

I’ve found it’s my community and loved ones who uplifted me in times of stress or sadness in my own personal experiences. That, along with therapy, has served me the most. In hindsight, I was far worse off when I tried “taking care of myself” and ended up isolating and avoiding everything and everyone. And this is coming from a life-long introvert! Come to think of it, concepts that some of these New-Age Instagram therapists like @the.holistic.psychologist have lauded, like self-healing, sent me into spirals of obsessive introspection and ones they have disavowed, like getting a diagnosis and put on a treatment plan, have helped me more than anything I’ve tried.

And that is the entire point. We’re all still figuring it out. What worked for me may not work for the next person. Mental healthcare has no one-size-fits-all solution you can fit into a Canva slideshow and slap onto the grid. It takes time, trial and error, and most of all, affordable, accessible care.