Wrexham residents are among the top five in the UK for searching therapy and counselling-related terms.

According to new research by Open Study College, Wrexham residents make 536 searches per month, on average, per 100,000 people.

This places Wrexham fifth in the UK for the most searches related to therapy and counselling.

The research was conducted to recognise World Mental Health Day on October 10.

The study analysed search volumes for terms relating to therapy and counselling to reveal which UK cities are searching for them the most.

Wolverhampton, Durham, and Ely were the top three cities seeking therapy the most, with 897, 831, and 729 searches respectively, on average, per month, per 100,000 people.

Truro joined Wrexham in the top five, with 563 searches.

The study also revealed that "therapy" is searched for the most, with 21,640 searches a month, followed by "counselling" with 18,220 monthly searches.

In 2023, more than 3.5 million people, or six per cent of the population, in the UK were in contact with NHS mental health services.

This is a result of therapy becoming destigmatised through growing awareness of mental health.

Robbie Bryant, head of education and development at Open Study College, commented on the findings.

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He said: "This data highlights the increased normalisation of mental health awareness in our society, with thousands each month searching for therapy or counselling-related terms.

"It’s a trend we’ve seen mirrored in the interest in our courses too, with counselling, psychology, and therapy subjects becoming ever more popular, whether that’s because people want to increase their own personal understanding of the topic or for career purposes."

The study also highlighted the difference between counselling and therapy.

A trained counsellor will typically help with a specific problem or surface issue, such as bereavement or something not associated with the past.

A therapist, on the other hand, is more likely to help with more rooted difficulties that affect a person's life, such as major life transitions or issues that affect day-to-day life.

Combining all the search terms, therapy-related terms are searched 36,050 times a month on average, while counselling-related terms are searched 21,910 times a month - 39 per cent less frequently.

The cities searching for counselling-related terms the most are Wolverhampton, Durham, and Ely.

Wolverhampton searches for "counselling" 1,700 times a month on average, the second highest in the UK after London.

The top three cities searching for therapy-related terms the most are Durham, Ely, and Truro.

Durham searches for "therapy" 140 times a month on average.