Zendaya, Selena Gomez, and more celebs who have opened up about going to therapy
“I think it‘s a beautiful thing”
Zendaya is the latest cover girl for British Vogue, and in her interview, the Euphoria star opens up about going to therapy.
“Yeah, of course I go to therapy,” the actress said in her 2021 October cover story. “I mean, if anybody is able to possess the financial means to go to therapy, I would recommend they do that. I think it‘s a beautiful thing.”
She continued, “You know, there‘s nothing wrong with working on yourself and dealing with those things with someone who can help you, someone who can talk to you, who’s not your mom or whatever. Who has no bias.”
Celebrities being open about their struggles with mental health continues to help de-stigmatize the topic, which is why their input is so important to fans.
Check out some more stars who have opened up about their own experiences going to therapy.
During an April 2019 episode of Coach’s Dream It Real podcast, Selena Gomez addressed some lifelong issues that stem from her early years in the spotlight.
“My situation is different and very weird but when I was younger, I was exposed to all of this [fame],” she said. ”It was just all these pictures and all the things and all I would do is look at the flaws … it is hard.”
The star continued, “I am a believer of therapy … I wish I could have done a lot of things and experienced things maybe a little differently. I go to therapy. It‘s just one of the most important things — to get to know yourself. Not saying everyone in the world has to do it! But I do think that it’s helped me understand myself and my childhood a lot better.”
At the June 2019 Her Conference, Jessica Alba told the audience she started going to therapy with her 10-year-old daughter, Honor, to “learn to be a better mother to her and communicate better with her.”
“Some people think, like, in my family, you talk to a priest and that‘s it,” Alba said. ”I don’t really feel comfortable talking to him about my feelings.”
She continued, “I didn‘t grow up in an environment where you talked about this stuff, and it was just like shut it down and keep it moving. So I find a lot of inspiration just in talking to my kids.”
In April 2021, Justin Bieber explained that his music would be taking a back seat as he continues to work on some of his “deep-rooted issues” in treatment. He also shared a photo of him in treatment to promote the benefits of professional help.
“It’s cool to have a healthy mind and healthy emotions,” he captioned the selfie he posted to his Instagram Stories.
In November 2018, while talking to a fan on Twitter, Ariana Grande credited therapy for saving her life.
“Who is Ariana‘s therapist and are they accepting new clients,” the fan tweeted.
“This is funny as f*** but in all honesty therapy has saved my life so many times,” Ariana replied. “If you’re afraid to ask for help, don’t be. [You] don’t have to be in constant pain and [you] can process trauma. I’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s a start to even be aware that it’s possible.”
In 2016, Emma Stone told Rolling Stone that she began seeing a therapist as a child after suffering debilitating panic attacks.
“It helped so much,” the actress said about her treatment. “I wrote this book called I Am Bigger Than My Anxiety that I still have: I drew a little green monster on my shoulder that speaks to me in my ear and tells me all these things that aren’t true. And every time I listen to it, it grows bigger. If I listen to it enough, it crushes me. But if I turn my head and keep doing what I’m doing — let it speak to me, but don’t give it the credit it needs — then it shrinks down and fades away.”
Following his time portraying Erik Killmonger in Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan started going to therapy.
“It was a little tough for me at first … Readjusting to people caring about me, getting that love that I shut out,” Jordan said about reworking his headspace and letting people back in when filming ended. “Honestly, therapy, just talking to somebody just helped me out a lot. As a man you get a lot of slack for it … I don’t really subscribe to that. Everyone needs to unpack and talk.”
