For Better Or Worse, We're A Nation Of Psychiatrist's-Couch Potatoes

Within living memory, Americans went to great lengths to conceal their mental-health problems. In today’s therapeutic culture, it’s become the norm to acknowledge and seek help for such difficulties. A Harris Interactive survey of adults, conducted for PacifiCare Behavioral Health and Psychology Today, quantifies the phenomenon.

Based on criteria used by PacifiCare, 30 percent of respondents were classified as having needed mental-health treatment during the past two years; 27 percent received some form of treatment. (The latter number includes those who’ve “seen a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or marital and family counselor” or who’ve “taken a prescription medication for a personal, emotional or mental-health problem” during that period.)