# Nearly half of Americans see therapist mental health disclosure as a strength

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/culture/nearly-half-of-americans-see-therapist-mental-health-disclosure-as-a-strength/

> Indexed question in Culture.

## Reading

In a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted May 11, 2026, 45% of Americans said a therapist who routinely discloses their own struggles with mental illness to patients would be better than average. This includes 32% who said better than average and 13% who said much better than average.

About a quarter said the therapist would be worse than average (24%), with 16% who said worse and 8% who said much worse. Another 30% said the therapist would be average.

## Topline

Generally speaking, what would you think about a therapist that routinely does this?

45% of Americans say a therapist who shares their mental illness struggles would be better than average.

Net findings combine adjacent response options from the same scale.

- They would be a better than average therapist: 32.2%
- They would be an average therapist: 30.5%
- They would be a worse than average therapist: 16.5%
- They would be a much better than average therapist: 13.1%
- They would be a much worse than average therapist: 7.7%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
- Base (unweighted): 1,000
- Margin of error: +/- 3.3%
- Module: beliefs
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Source

- Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-1.16](https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-1.16)

## Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.3%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-1.16](https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26#q-1.16)