The Best Free Mental Health Resources Online
But, actually.
In today’s climate, more and more people are recognising their need for mental health support, yet access is a huge challenge.
In the UK where I’m based, mental health expertise is considered world-leading, yet still underfunding for public services is forcing people to people to wait months and years to receive help. Globally, infrastructure for mental health support may not be available at all.
In a recognition of the need, huge amounts of mental health resources have become available online. In principle, this dissemination of therapeutic knowledge is amazing news for people wanting to support themselves. Although they are no substitute for individualised therapy, they can be used to support our journeys.
However, the challenge now becomes wading through the masses of misinformation. Pop psychology bites have become readily available and are often very convincing. But be warned. The lack of nuance can cause huge amounts of harm.
Read: There’s a lot of trash out there, so watch out.
For transparency, I am a psychological researcher and trainee psychologist. This collection is the best of the free resources which have supported my trauma-informed mental health journey alongside therapy, or when I have not had access to it.
The first part of the collection is the resources created by experts who have graciously shared their knowledge for free. These are qualified professionals, who have used evidence-based information and years of experience to create their content.
The second part of the collection I’m calling the ‘you are not alone’ sanity-keeping resources. People often use that phrase to comfort people, but it doesn’t always resonate in the moment. These resources contain accounts from thousands of wonderful, real, different, neurodiverse people which always help me gain perspective and feel part of humanity.
Experts
1. Excel At Life
If there’s one site you check out from this list, let it be this! Look past the slightly self-helpy name, because this site is a gold mine of solid evidenced-based resources.
Excel At Life is a giant collection of mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy approaches to different mental health issues and life problems. It’s the baby of Dr Monica Frank, a US-based clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience.
There are dozens of pages breaking down issues relating to depression, anxiety, self-esteem, conflict and motivation, among other topics. I particularly like the site because of some of the niche issues discussed, such as struggling to forgive, being too stressed to relax, and things to consider when a loved one refuses help. The blog posts break down the topic and give you CBT-driven prompts and practices to help resolve issues.
Plus there are free apps and audio too!
It’s such an incredible resource which I rarely see referenced, and certainly one to add to the toolbox.
2. Alan Robarge
Alan Robarge is an attachment-focused psychotherapist, who makes YouTube videos about romantic relationships, familial relationships, grief, and self-esteem.
He is trained in both western and eastern approaches to mental health and is extremely reflective in his practice, giving a wonderfully educated and balanced approach to well-being.
His break-up videos are incredible (and I’ll admit I had him on repeat to get through my last one!). There are many good therapists on YouTube making videos, but Alan Robarge is by far my top recommendation. He explains so candidly and caringly how to move through very specific pains, in a way I’ve yet to see replicated.
3. MedCircle
MedCircle is a very large YouTube educational channel with resident psychologists who make videos explaining many mental health diagnoses, symptoms, and interviews of lived experiences.
I’m generally wary of the very large YouTube channels as they can be driven by click-baity or fear-mongery content (watch out for narcissist stuff in particular). Bearing this in mind, I’m including MedCircle because although some of the titles are a little like this, the content is generally good. It’s a helpful place to start to understand more about a mental health issue you or a loved one might be facing.
Their best videos break down and explain symptoms and therapy types (including live recordings!) to demystify mental health and support getting the help you might need, and they cover a huge collection of diagnoses.
Community
1. Live Through This
Live Through This is a collection of stories from the survivors of suicide attempts. Each person has their own blog post talking about their history, their struggles, what got them through, and why they are glad to be alive. If you need help believing that things can actually get better, this is the site.
We often forget that around 10% of us will experience suicidal thoughts at some point in our lifetime. This site help breaks down the stigma, showing that there’s no one type of person that can have these struggles. For anyone struggling with suicidal ideation, check out these stories for something relatable and inspiring.
2. StyleLikeU
StyleLikeU is a YouTube channel of candid interviews by mother & daughter duo Elisa & Lily, of hundreds of diverse creatives in the US. Each person discusses their life journey as they remove the clothing that they’ve worn to represent themselves. I love this channel for the representation of how complex and important our identities are. You don’t often get to hear how a person has come to recon with their gender, race, sexuality, parenthood, age or body, and it’s incredibly liberating.
The channel has its roots in fashion and has an amazing playlist focused on how people use their personal style to claim their identity and express themselves. It’s incredibly inspiring stuff and a reminder of one way we can authentically show up for ourselves.
3. Special Books by Special Kids
Special Books by Special Kids is a YouTube channel of interviews of children and adults with a wide variety of mental and physical health difficulties. Each interview is carried out with great care and respect and has introduced me to some incredibly inspiring people and families.
There are interviews of people living with conditions like autism, PTSD, BPD, OCD, schizophrenia, dementia, and terminal illnesses to name just a few. All are extremely eye-opening and humanising and can help remind us of the diversity of people living with all different types of highs and lows. There’s a very hopeful underlying message and many supportive communities to get involved with.
These are the resources I think are amazing, but there are many more out there. Hopefully some are helpful to you, and I’ll be sure to add to the list as I discover more quality sites.
