Why People are Seeking Counseling Around the US Posted on June 16, 2018, updated on March 4, 2024 by Gateway Counseling The conversation about mental health, emotional health, and seeking treatment is slowly changing. The industry and society are working to remove the stigma. This change is evident as more people around the country seek out therapy for their problems. There are some trends that researchers are finding between the different areas of the country and why people are seeking counseling for help with their daily lives. Top Reasons For Seeking Counseling The study first determined the top Google results for different types of counseling sought out in the country. These included: Alcohol Anxiety Compulsion Depression Drug Marriage Money Trauma Besides these types, the top three included family, alcohol, and marriage. During the study, researchers noticed that areas of the data map did not match with the top Google results. This data mapping helped them to see some of these patterns. Highest Ranking Reasons For Seeking Counseling in Regions around America? The below, are some of the state breakdowns that the research found: Depression is one of the most common issues googled in two states Indiana and Minnesota. Drug counseling is more common in Florida, California, and Louisiana. Help with compulsion was top in four states. These include New York, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Nevada. It’s not too surprising that Nevada shows on this list considering that Las Vegas and Reno are located Anxiety was the most common search for people in four states. Wisconsin, Utah, New Mexico, and Illinois. Money counseling was more sought after in Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Alcohol counseling is one of the most common searches in general for counseling, but it was also top in five states. New Jersey, Washington, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Arizona all were top here. Marriage counseling is one of the top searches for a large number of states. This search was most common in Ohio, Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This list numbers 11 in all. The final search result found was the largest of them all. In 17 states, searches were done for trauma counseling. These states include Hawaii, Oregon, South Dakota, North Dakota, Arkansas, Delaware, and West Virginia. As well as Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and Alaska As researchers dug down deeper into the data that was provided through Google, they not only noticed this pattern between states but also that many of the states that bordered each other in the different regions tended to have some of the same patterns pop up. Why? There are a few reasons as to why these patterns emerge as they do. One of the first is that people are starting to come away from the old stigmas and are seeking help. These results wouldn’t be happening without positive trends in this area. The next take away from these regional differences is that people go through different experiences depending on where they live. Some areas experience higher rates of drug problems. Others may be experience economic issues that result in people seeking help related to their marriage or depression from not finding work. However, just because your problem may not be a prevalent issue in your area it doesn’t mean that you can’t find a counselor to assist. When To Start Seeking Counseling Some people get into this rut that they should just be able to work through any problems they have in life themselves. This feeling is often from a few different things. One is the stigma that people have about seeking therapy that something is inherently wrong with someone that has mental health issues. It can be hard to overcome, and for some, they just don’t tell others in their life that they are having problems or getting help because of it. The good news is that many Americans are no longer letting this stigma stop them from moving forward with seeking mental health treatment. In fact, one previous survey found that nearly half of all American households have had someone that sought out mental health treatment. Another is that someone people feel that they got themselves into the issue, such as marital strife, that they should be the ones to handle it. However, they just don’t take into account that asking for help can make working through these issues have a more positive outcome. Get Help Through Counseling Are you going through something in your life where you feel that counseling could make a difference for you? Gateway Counseling Center is here for you. We offer our services to those having relational and psychological issues for individuals, couples, and families. Contact us today to set up a session with one of our professionals. Let’s get started working together to make a change for the better.
