When I was a child growing up in the UK, much of my knowledge of the US came from reading comic strips like Peanuts, which were published in the Sunday newspapers. I remember reading the series in which Lucy, the female nemesis of the insecure Charlie Brown, set up a makeshift shack offering psychiatric counseling for five cents a session (no insurance accepted, presumably). Having no clue what a psychiatrist was, I asked a friend’s elder brother, who often knew about adult things, for an explanation.
“I think that’s the person they send you to see if you’ve gone completely nuts,” he said.
Although the UK’s awareness of mental health care has improved radically since back then, there is still an associated stigma that would surprise most Americans. For instance, a visit to a psychologist in the US is perceived as somewhat routine, but that’s not so in Britain, where seeking therapy is a big step – it’s an admission of an illness that is considered shameful, so therapy sessions would probably be kept secret. Continue reading The US Versus UK: Comparing Mental Health Care and Stigma
