Who uses mental health support forums, and why? Triangulating findings from surveys, interviews, and forum posts - Takeaways - MDSpire

Who uses mental health support forums, and why? Triangulating findings from surveys, interviews, and forum posts

  • By

  • Zoe Glossop

  • Anna Lindroos Čermáková

  • Paul Marshall

  • Paul Rayson

  • Heather Robinson

  • Elena Semino

  • Fiona Lobban

  • June 5, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    The NHS Talking Therapies service in the UK faces immense pressure, with long waiting times and high drop-out rates due to dissatisfaction.

  • 2

    Online forums are increasingly accessed for mental health support, with the subreddit r/mentalhealth growing from 20,000 to 530,000 members from 2016 to 2025.

  • 3

    Stigmatized groups and individuals in rural areas often turn to online forums for anonymous peer support, overcoming barriers to in-person services.

  • 4

    Young people, as digital natives, are more likely to seek help online due to higher mental health needs and limited access to traditional services.

  • 5

    A mixed-methods approach combining surveys, interviews, and corpus linguistic analysis was used to explore the demographics and motivations of forum users.

Original Source(s)

Who uses mental health support forums, and why? Triangulating findings from surveys, interviews, and forum posts

  • by Zoe Glossop, Anna Lindroos Čermáková, Paul Marshall, Paul Rayson, Heather Robinson, Elena Semino, Fiona Lobban

  • June 5, 2026

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