News & Events, Wellness / Self-Care

Ariana Grande is giving away $1 million worth of Therapy to fans

We love to see it.

words by: Sahar Khraibani
Jul 17, 2021

Ariana Grande has just stepped up in the game in order to ensure that more of her followers have access to free counseling. By way of an Instagram post created on June 29, Grande said that she was “thrilled” to be collaborating with Better Help to donate $1 million worth of therapy. Better Help later announced that the amount of free counseling has been increased to $2 million due to “so many of you” taking advantage.

 

Fans who sign up for this offer will be matched with a certified therapist for one month free, with a 15% discount if they renew for another month.

 

The 28-year-old singer explained why she’s giving therapy to fans in her Instagram caption: “thrilled to be working with @betterhelp to give away $1,000,000 of free therapy! while acknowledging that therapy should not be for a privileged few but something everyone has access to, and acknowledging that this doesn’t fix that issue in the long run, i really wanted to do this anyway in hopes of inspiring you to dip a toe in, to feel okay asking for help, and to hopefully rid your minds of any sort of self judgement in doing so! i hope that you’ll take advantage of this opportunity and go to betterhelp.com/ariana to be matched with a licensed therapist for one free month. after that, you’ll have the choice to renew and continue. i so hope that this will be a helpful starting point and that you’ll be able to build space for this in your lives and continue! healing is not linear or easy but you are worth the effort and time, i promise! thank you so much to @betterhelp and i can’t wait to do more work together,” she wrote.

 

Grande admitted that this donation would not eliminate the financial barrier that many people face when seeking counseling. However, she expressed the hope that this will be a “useful beginning point” for fans to “make space” in their lives for therapy. “Healing is not linear or easy,” she said, “but you are worth the effort and time, I promise!”

 

Grande has been outspoken about mental health issues in the past, including her own. When asked about her therapist, she wrote to fans in 2018 that “therapy has saved my life so many times.”

 

Following the Manchester bombing at her concert in 2017, the singer suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, and later sang about her mental health difficulties in songs like “Breathin” and “Get Well Soon” from the Sweetener album. In May, at the start of Mental Health Awareness Month, Grande posted an Instagram slideshow to help erase “the stigma around mental health” and normalize “asking for help.”

 

Along with pop stars like Grande, rappers have long been trying to change the stigma around mental health as well. You can also read more here on the benefits of journaling for mental health.

 

Photo via Robin Marchant/Getty Images