95% of people who’ve had counselling or psychotherapy think it’s important it should be accessible to everyone who wants it, our research has found.

The figure is from our annual Public Perceptions Survey and is released for World Mental Health Day (Tuesday, October 10).

The World Mental Health Day theme for 2023, set by the World Foundation of Mental Health, is ‘Mental health is a universal human right’.  

Our research also found that 92% of people who’ve had counselling or psychotherapy agree it’s a good idea to seek counselling or psychotherapy for a problem before it gets out of hand.

The survey of more than 5,000 UK adults, which was carried out with YouGov, also found that 82% of people who’ve had counselling or psychotherapy agree people might be happier if they talked to a counsellor or psychotherapist about their problems.

77% of people who’ve had counselling or psychotherapy would be likely to recommend it to someone who had emotional difficulties or a mental health problem, the research also found.

text-only version of the infographic is also available.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 5,333 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9 to 22 February 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 16 and over).