The Top 12 Mental Health Trends of 2025

Emotional support animal letters are on the rise

Rising in popularity, ESA letters (emotional support animal letters) were traditionally written by licensed mental health professionals in person. These letters protect patients' rights to have a pet in their home, free of charge, under the powerful federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and can even extend to plane travel.

Alongside the rise in online discussion and searches for ESA letters, more businesses are popping up to offer the letters after a short survey and consultation.

And in what’s become a fascinating dynamic, the regulations around these companies often lead to outsourcing certifications, much like in other industries. For example, to sell security alarms within the US, companies must get licensed as an alarm provider in all the states where they plan to sell products. The process requires that companies have a certified security alarm professional, essentially an individual with a specific number of years of experience and certifications from a variety of tests. As newer and smaller companies entered the industry without naturally having those certified team members, they realized they could outsource this qualification. Consequently, there exist individuals who take tests, maintain their status, and rent out their qualification as a service, essentially letting companies use their name for $800-$1500/mo depending on the state.

As with the security industry, we may see a rise in outsourced qualifications to meet new legal requirements for ESA letters, as demand grows.

Online therapy surges in popularity

Of all the major types of private medical specialists, psychiatrists are the least likely to accept health insurance at a rate of less than half.

It’s in large part because reimbursement rates, from insurance companies, are so low. In fact, psychiatrists often actually get reimbursed less than primary care physicians for the same diagnoses.

Talkiatry is a rapidly-growing tech-enabled psychiatry practice where patients complete a quiz and get matched to a psychiatrist.

Rather than being a marketplace for psychiatrists, Talkiatry hires psychiatrists as employees, allowing them to get better reimbursement rates.

Another big difference between many traditional psychiatrists and the growing wave of online “Zoom psychiatrists” is asynchronous communication. Traditional therapy sessions are done through scheduled appointments so communicating with a therapist about personal issues over text at unset hours has tended to be outside the traditional scope of client-therapist relationships. Many of these new platforms push users towards asynchronous texting and audio messaging, allowing for unscheduled communication with personal therapists and forcing change on these social norms.

Stigma-prone topics like divorce and therapy now openly celebrated

Much like therapy, divorce is ruled less and less by stigma. Just as people now openly share their mental health routines, divorcees aren’t shy about announcing their break. In fact, an increasing number of former spouses are choosing to celebrate their split.

Moral acceptance of divorce among Americans has grown steadily over the past 20 years, with 70% of the population now at ease with the idea. Low-profile breakups are still common, but this is more about a desire for privacy than a fear of judgment.

Many divorcees are choosing to be more open, and actively celebrate the transition in their life — just as others do for marriages, births, and deaths.

Divorce party goers say it brings back the mood after the paperwork is signed, and allows ex-partners to laugh away their frustrations. At one such event, a former wife launched golf balls printed with her ex-husbands name. Searches on Pinterest for “divorce party games” and “divorce cakes” have also surged recently.

These events aren’t the only new addition to the divorce postscript. Friends of divorcees now commonly offer gifts, such as dating app subscriptions. Registry sites have started linking to popular retailers to help newly single people to restock on household essentials — only one half of each couple gets to keep the pasta maker or the TV.

Divorce has even become a social media trend. “Divorced dad aesthetic” searches on Pinterest recently rocketed by 300% in one month.

Seeing a therapist too, once seen as something to be kept secret is now something many consumers openly talk about. In fact, many women using online dating say it’s a green flag to see a potential match goes to therapy.

Increasing focus on men's mental health

Support for mental health in the workplace

Support for mental health in the workplace is becoming more common as businesses realize how important it is for keeping employees happy and productive. Companies are starting to offer things like counseling, mental health days, and stress management workshops. They say it helps prevent burnout and makes the workplace a supportive environment.

Mental health apps