In these last few years we have witnessed unprecedented upheaval in the areas of politics, social justice, the natural world, and public health. To help our patients and to support our practices, communities, and the field as a whole, it is vitally important to understand what people are looking for in mental health treatment, and how they think and feel about the therapies we offer.

It’s also crucial that public awareness and appreciation of therapies of depth, insight, and relationship improve. These therapies are highly effective, but are misunderstood, undervalued, and overlooked by the general public, policymakers and insurers.

To address both of these issues, Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) conducted extensive original research with the general public. From this innovative and unprecedented effort to “listen” to the public, we learned about the attitudes and expectations people have towards therapy, which benefits matter most, what their misperceptions and biases are, and what they know and don’t know about mental health and therapy. This research was first fielded in 2020, and followed by a new study published in 2025 that offers a post-pandemic perspective on attitudes and expectations towards therapy, with new inquiry into topics such as teletherapy, apps, and AI.

This presentation will share the findings from both of PsiAN’s qualitative and quantitative research studies. It will also offer a blueprint for engaging and communicating with the public about our work, so that we can help the public gain greater awareness, understanding and appreciation for therapies of depth, insight, and relationship.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this presentation participants will be able to:

1. Describe the benefits that the general public in the US seeks from therapy and their attitudes towards issues of mental health care.
2. Describe the public’s stated obstacles to seeking mental healthcare.
3. Describe the 4 research-based pillars of how to communicate most effectively with the public to help increase their awareness and appreciation of therapies of depth, insight and relationship.

Linda Michaels, PsyD, MBA

Linda Michaels, PsyD, MBA is a psychologist with a private practice in Chicago. She is Chair and Co-Founder of the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN). She is a Consulting Editor of Psychoanalytic Inquiry, Clinical Associate Faculty at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, and a fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program. She is author and editor of Advancing Psychotherapy for the Next Generation, and has published, presented, and been interviewed by the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, NPR and other national media on psychotherapy. Linda has a former career in business, with over 15 years’ experience consulting to organizations in the US and Latin America.