David Harbour: Psychotherapy has changed my life

David Harbour has explained how psychotherapy has transformed his life.

David Harbour has found psychotherapy to be transformative for him.

The 50-year-old actor – who has previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder – believes psychotherapy has changed his life.

David told Future of Personal Health: “I have been in therapy since I got sober in 1999.

“When I quit drinking, it forced me to confront a lot of demons that rose to the surface. I was very poor. However, I still was able to work once a week with a [Clinical Social Worker] who put me on a sliding scale.”

David discovered psychotherapy at the age of 50, and he admits that his progress has been marked.

He said: “Only recently have I started intense psychotherapy, and it has made a world of difference in my treatment.”

David explained that maintaining his mental health requires a lot of effort and discipline.

The actor – who separated from his wife Lily Allen in February 2025 – said: “I have not had a manic flare-up since I started psychoanalysis with a good therapist.

“Medication alone is only half the battle. There is not a cure-all formula, there is only hard individual work.”

David previously revealed that he was institutionalised for his bipolar disorder when he was in his mid-20s.

The Hollywood star told The Big Issue: “I was diagnosed at 26 as bipolar after an episode that landed me in an institution.

“I have been struggling with the medical model of mental illness for a long time. I started to really get into talk therapy around the particular trauma, and I find that narrative and stories, dealing intellectually and emotionally with personal trauma, has been far more liberating to me than hospitals and drugs.”

David also thanked his family for helping him to survive his struggles.

He said: “I have definitely been in and out of the system. And there were times in my life where very easily I could have ended up on the streets, but I luckily had a family who could support me through those lean and very trying times.”