Speaking from both sides of the “couch”: The way I see it, therapy is stigmatized because people who “need” therapy obviously have something going on that is more than they can handle alone. And it is intangible.
What I mean by that is: We all have things we can’t handle alone.
Example: We have a baby boy on a Friday – Mazal Tov! – and we’re a bit stressed about making the Shalom Zachor that night. We might get snappy, short-tempered. So, recognizing our limitations, we accept help from neighbors to bake or pick up stuff for us. We will hire a caterer for the Brit. Nobody looks down on us: “Why didn’t they cook all the food themselves? What’s wrong with them? Why do they need to turn to professionals for help?” L’hefech – people who try to cater their affairs themselves are looked at as the crazy ones!
But those are “tangibles” – cakes, cups, sodas…things we can see and touch and say – “Oh, yeah, it’s really too much. She just had a baby, of course she can’t be expected to make 40 cakes. Understandable – I’d do the same!”
It’s the intangibles that scare us. The anxiety, depression, phobias, anger. We can’t see them, can’t quantify them – often don’t actually know too much about them. (A part of us might worry: “Maybe we even have them – and don’t know it!”). And because we can’t get a grasp of what it is we’re dealing with, instead of being as understanding as we were about the need for store-bought arbis for the Shalom Zachor, we shun those who admit to seeking professional help for such “intangibles”.
Stigmas are most often formed by the fear that stems from a lack of adequate information.