Matthias Barker is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) based out of Nashville, Tennessee, with a master’s degree in clinical mental health counselling from Northwest University. As a psychotherapist, Matthias specializes in high-acuity sexual trauma, childhood trauma, and marital issues. Outside of his line of work, Matthias has over 3 million followers across his platforms on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and more. What does Matthias post that has grabbed the attention of over 3 million people, including me?
I personally found Matthias Barker in early 2021 after being on the mental health side of TikTok for a while. What initially caught my attention in his videos was the setup of his framing, camera positioning, and backdrop. The setup of the warm lighting, his persona, and more create a cozy environment, one where anyone can be safe and themselves. And then, Matthias immediately opens up with a statement, one that anyone with anxiety or the topic the video is themed in, resonates with. You’re called out, but in a way that’s validating. You want to hear what he has to say because he already understands a part of you that no one else quite does.
Matthias’s content advocates for people of all ages and demographics to understand their trauma and personal conflicts better. Each video that Matthias makes points towards topics of loneliness, trauma, marital relations, trust, and so much more. He’ll often start with his videos with a catchy grab: “I know you might feel guilty for pushing them away or cutting them off, but that’s not always the right way to think about it.” He introduces the topic of the video with a very relatable thing that people can connect to, but with a grab at the end – what is the right way to think about it?
Mental Health is a confusing and large topic; everyone knows that. The issue with therapy is that it’s not accessible, complicated, and often a scary process – Matthias understands that. “I wanted to create something that shows you the educational, but also something that sits in your heart, and helps you on your journey.” Matthias brings in the idea of interpersonal conversation over the TikTok and Instagram platforms. These videos stand as a coffee shop talk with a friend. We feel safe in these videos; we feel heard. For those suffering from mental health issues, a lot of the problems stem from not understanding what you’re going through, but also not having the chance to feel heard and supported. In Alicia Eler’s article, The Selfie Generation: How Our Self-Images Are Changing Our Notions of Privacy, Sex, Consent, and Culture, the author notes that self-discourse helps one feel validated online through sharing of selfies or other photos. With Matthias’ content, its similar to self-disclosure because we are being validated by another, which does wonders for our own mental health journey. As previously mentioned, Matthias gives folks the understanding of why they’re feeling the way they do and then attempts to give information that will resonate with the individual, hopefully helping them down their path. Matthias notes this process as “tangable reassurance that you are moving through this journey,” instead of waiting around the corner, hoping you hit a milestone in your recovery.
Matthias also has content that expands outside of his Tiktok/Reels style videos, as he also has a podcast that goes into further detail about everything he is trained within. Over the last couple of years, Matthias has created workshops, free e-books and more that have allowed people a greater chance to learn more about mental health, making it more available and accessible.
Outside of educational-based videos, Matthias also has created a lot of content in his own life with his family. In the summer of 2020, Matthias created several videos detailing his thoughts and fears about becoming a father. Within these videos, he breaks down advice from fatherly mentors of his, some psychological information about adolescence and parental growth. These videos, although they deviate from what his content is primarily, reinforce his content altogether. In Sofia P. Caldeira’s article, Everybody needs to post a selfie every once in a while, the author states that self representation “can help to enrich contemporary visual cultures, helping to normalize diversity”. By sharing information and his own stories, Matthias participates in self-representation, allowing for his audience to not just see him as a therapist, but as a normal human being as well. By constructing his own identity to his profile, Matthias showcases the importance of community within his content. By sharing his world to his audience, and to other unexpected views from Tiktok or Instagram’s algorithm, he’s using his platform as a way to connect with others grief and fears. Matthias has a video on his Facebook profile that is over 15 minutes long, detailing all the information he has acquired about how to be a good father and to properly care for his daughter. Video’s like these, in my opinion, highlight his character more. In videos where he is learning, he becomes just like his audience, finding new tools for their journey and new information to become validated. The connection between content creator and audience allows for a greater understanding of each other; not just from a content creaton side of things, but from a human perspective as well. And with that knowledge at the forefront, it helps guide Matthias’s ability to connect with his audience.
Ultimately, Matthias Barker’s use of social media platforms allows him to make mental health awareness and education more accessible to everyone, regardless of what your experience with mental health is. Through his ability to self-disclosure and self-representation, Matthias creates content that is extremely connectable to people suffering from trauma or an assortment of mental health issues. His goals align with why he posts, creating content that validates and educates people, reassuring them about their feelings and providing them with additional toolsets and comfort throughout their journey. Also, by showcasing his own personality and his own journey through grief or fatherhood, we, as the audience, can separate the person from the content creator, allowing for even more connection to him as a person.
Works Cited:
Barker, Matthias. “Matthias James Barker, LMHC on Instagram: ‘My Latest Trauma Workshop Is Available Now.’” Instagram, http://www.instagram.com/p/CgXI2FfjDVI/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.
Bruś, Teresa. “The SELFIE GENERATION: How our self images are changing our notions of privacy, sex, consent, and culture by Alicia Eler.” Biography, vol. 42, no. 2, 2019, pp. 392–395, https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2019.0036.
Caldeira, Sofia P., et al. “‘everybody needs to post a selfie every once in a while’: Exploring the politics of Instagram curation in young women’s self-representational practices.” Information, Communication & Society, vol. 24, no. 8, 2020, pp. 1073–1090, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2020.1776371.
“Matthias Barker | Facebook.” Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/matthiasjbarker. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.
“Matthias Barker | Instagram.” Login • Instagram, http://www.instagram.com/matthiasjbarker/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.
“My Grandmother Passed Away Yesterday- This Is a Short Reflection on the Process of Grief.: By Matthias J Barker.” Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=222103112625193. Accessed 4 Nov. 2023.
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