Five years really isn’t a long time. Yet, if we examine all the ways the world has changed since 2020, it feels like a dramatic shift.

One of those changes is how we talk about mental health. Not that long ago, most people were not openly speaking about their mental health challenges. Therapy was something private done in complete secrecy, and struggling was something to hide or to push through on your own.

Thankfully, today, things look very different. People talk more openly about anxiety, trauma, burnout, and the realities of depression. Mental health challenges are no longer secrets, signs of weakness, or anything to be shamed for. Instead, we now see therapy for what it is—a tool for growth, understanding, and healing.

As we recognise World Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s take a look at the progress we’ve made and what still needs to change.

A conversation that finally opened up

The last few years have seen a genuine cultural shift. Much of that change was driven by shared experience.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it triggered a 25% increase in anxiety and depression worldwide. Practically overnight, everyone’s sense of safety, structure, and connection was shaken at once. The fallout saw mental health issues rise quickly as support systems and healthy routines simply vanished overnight. As demand for in-person mental health services exceeded supply, digital solutions filled the gap.

People took to social media—particularly TikTok and Instagram—as an outlet to talk about their problems. In fact, a 2021 review found that “popular social networking sites are the most important digital health resources for children and young people.”

Suddenly, opening up about mental health challenges became a part of our everyday lives.

While doom scrolling through other people’s breakdowns certainly isn’t a healthy activity, it provided an outlet for the world to talk about things it had often ignored. Isolation, uncertainty, and loss became collective conversations.

Prominent public figures and celebrities such as Demi Lovato, who launched The Mental Health Fund in April 2020, raised money for organisations providing crisis counselling, while singer Shawn Mendes spoke honestly of his mental health struggles as the key factor to cancelling his world tour.

The language changed, too. As more and more people began to open up about their mental health struggles, words like “boundaries”, “trauma”, and “nervous system regulation” became part of how we describe our lives.

A shift in mental health care

Alongside the social media-driven cultural shift, mental health care has evolved. Therapy is no longer seen as something for crisis alone. It is recognised as an act of self-care, a way to understand yourself and navigate life with greater stability and compassion.

Technology also played a significant role, as virtual sessions made therapy accessible to people who might never have stepped into a consulting room. The distance created safety, and the screen became a bridge, not a barrier.

Clinically, trauma has become central to how we understand mental health. The question has shifted from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” and that change in perspective has altered everything.

At Innisfree Therapy, this understanding lies at the heart of what we do. Our Harley Street team of highly trained trauma therapists works with evidence-based trauma models to help clients explore, understand, and heal. We know that lasting change does not come from quick fixes. It comes from curiosity, compassion, and skilled therapeutic work that allows people to reconnect with themselves and others.

Learning a new emotional language

One of the most encouraging changes of the last five years has been a rise in emotional literacy.

People are learning how to name and manage emotions that once felt too big or confusing to hold. Concepts that once belonged only in therapy rooms, such as the “window of tolerance” or “emotional regulation”, now appear in podcasts, workshops, and dinner table conversations.

This doesn’t mean everyone suddenly has perfect emotional insight. But it does mean we are less afraid of the words. We are more able to recognise what is happening inside us, and that’s often the first step toward getting help.

Therapists now meet clients who arrive not just because they are struggling, but because they want to understand the underlying reasons. They want to learn how to understand themselves better and to live differently, not just survive differently. That is real progress.

Investing in mental health

It is impossible to separate mental health from the world around it. When we invest in mental health, we invest in everything: education, work, family, and community.

The World Health Organization estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy nearly one trillion dollars every year. However, every dollar spent on mental health yields a return of four dollars in improved well-being and productivity. The numbers are clear, but the truth runs deeper.

Investing in mental health services means investing in people. It means training therapists properly, funding trauma services, and providing individuals with the time and space to heal and recover. It means understanding that change does not happen overnight, and that the slow, steady work of therapy is among the most valuable work a person can do.

At Innisfree Therapy, we see that investment every day. Clients who choose to do this work are not simply trying to “get better.” They are building new ways of being, more stable, more connected, and more at peace with themselves.

Progress, and what still lies ahead

There is no question that we have come a long way. But we are not there yet.

Here in the UK, access to quality care remains unequal. While the National Health Service (NHS) remains one of the largest public healthcare systems in the world, serving approximately 1 million people every 36 hours, resources are stretched, and waiting times are lengthy. Those who need help the most are often faced with additional barriers, including limited availability in their area, inconvenient opening times, and transport challenges.

In many cultures globally, the stigma surrounding mental health continues to silence those who need help most.

For example, many Asian cultures, such as those in Singapore, China, Japan, and Korea, have a concept of “saving face” to protect the family’s reputation, dignity, or honour. In these cultures, people may avoid seeking help for mental health problems or speaking up about their challenges as they may fear “losing face” or bringing shame to their family or community.

In addition, telemental health psychologist Smriti Joshi says, “Ignorance and myths around mental health concerns, which attribute them to ‘bad karma or curse or possession by evil spirits,’ often lead people to reach out to their faith healers or religious leaders for support with this.”

Some African, Latin American and various indigenous cultures face similar barriers ranging from violence to ostracism from their families, which often prevent them from seeking mental health support.

There is also a growing concern about the noise surrounding mental health: the flood of “therapy speak” on social media that can make everything sound the same. While the increased awareness is positive, it seems that everyone is becoming an armchair mental health expert just to gain views or go viral.

While keeping the conversation real is vital, awareness alone isn’t enough. Access to and expertise with qualified, trained therapists must be available.

Healing through relationships

At its core, mental health work is about building trust and maintaining relationships, not hashtags and viral headlines. Progress happens when a person who once felt broken now finds patience, curiosity, and care.

This is where Innisfree Therapy’s work sits. We believe that healing begins with relationships: between therapist and client, between past and present, between the self that coped and the self that is ready to grow. Our therapists are highly skilled in trauma models, but it is their humanity, their ability to sit with pain without rushing it, that makes the real difference.

A more compassionate future

The world has made remarkable progress in just a few short years. Stigma has softened. Understanding has grown. However, real transformation—the kind that changes lives rather than conversations—takes time.

This World Mental Health Awareness Month presents an opportunity to reflect on both the progress we have made and the work that remains to be done.

Because the goal is not simply to raise awareness, it is to build a world where care is accessible, stigma-free, and rooted in empathy. A world where therapy is not seen as a last resort but as an ordinary, essential part of looking after ourselves and one another.

Five years ago, that felt idealistic. Today, it feels possible.

To learn more about how we can help you or your loved one, or to schedule an initial consultation, please get in touch with us for a confidential, no-obligation conversation with one of our professional team members. We offer both in-person and online sessions, with flexible options to meet your needs.