Ariana Grande has donated one million US dollars (around £723,000) to a mental health organisation to help fans obtain free therapy.
The singer, who has been open about struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety following a bombing at her concert in 2017, announced the donation on Twitter and Instagram, writing that therapy “should not be for a privileged few”.
The donation is in partnership with BetterHelp, and will see applicants to the scheme receive a free month of therapy.
https://t.co/CkMTjVj6n0 🤍 pic.twitter.com/OLFcjQnKKo
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) June 29, 2021
Writing on Instagram, she said: “While acknowledging that therapy should not be for a privileged few but something everyone has access to, and acknowledging that this doesn’t fix that issue in the long run, I really wanted to do this anyway in hopes of inspiring you to dip a toe in, to feel okay asking for help, and to hopefully rid your minds of any sort of self judgement in doing so!
“I so hope that this will be a helpful starting point and that you’ll be able to build space for this in your lives and continue!
“Healing is not linear or easy but you are worth the effort and time, I promise!”
Thank you @ArianaGrande fans! We are thrilled to see so many of you taking this step in your mental health journey. Together with Ariana, we've decided to double the amount of therapy we're giving away 💚 https://t.co/w6aufr5FBg pic.twitter.com/gTlHSAsM7A
— BetterHelp (@betterhelp) June 29, 2021
Following the success of Grande’s tweet, BetterHelp announced that they would double her donation to provide two million US dollars (around £1,446,000) to the therapy scheme.
The scheme will see applicants matched with a therapist on BetterHelp for one free month, then receiving a 15% discount if they choose to continue for another month.
For more information on the scheme, visit BetterHelp’s website.