2025-08-20

IELTS Writing Task 2 Discussion — Mental Health: 15 Common Mistakes and Fixes

Master IELTS Writing Task 2 mental health discussion essays with advanced psychological and wellness vocabulary, Band 9 samples, and expert strategies for consistent Band 7+ scores.

This comprehensive guide addresses the 15 most common mistakes students make in IELTS Writing Task 2 mental health discussion essays and provides expert fixes for achieving Band 7-9 scores. Master sophisticated psychological vocabulary, proven essay structures, and advanced argumentation techniques while learning from detailed Band 9 sample analysis and examiner insights.

Mental health discussion essays challenge candidates to explore complex relationships between psychological well-being, social factors, treatment approaches, and policy frameworks. Success requires sophisticated vocabulary, balanced argumentation, and nuanced understanding of contemporary mental health challenges affecting individuals and communities worldwide.

Mental health discussion questions in IELTS Task 2 typically present contrasting viewpoints about psychological treatment approaches, mental wellness promotion strategies, societal attitudes toward mental health, or policy frameworks addressing psychological well-being. Your task is to present both perspectives fairly while demonstrating sophisticated understanding of mental health complexity.

Common mental health discussion topics include:

  • Professional therapy vs. community support approaches to mental wellness
  • Medication-based treatment vs. therapeutic intervention emphasis
  • Mental health education in schools vs. family-centered approaches
  • Workplace mental health programs vs. individual resilience development
  • Public mental health services vs. private psychological care access
  • Stigma reduction campaigns vs. privacy protection for mental health conditions

Success demands demonstrating nuanced understanding of how psychological factors, social environments, treatment modalities, and policy frameworks interact within complex mental health ecosystems.

Mistake 1: Oversimplified Mental Health Arguments

Common Error: "People with mental problems should go to doctors and take medicine to feel better."

Why It's Wrong: This lacks analytical depth expected at higher band levels. Mental health involves complex interactions between biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors requiring multifaceted treatment approaches.

Expert Fix: "While pharmacological interventions can address neurochemical imbalances contributing to mental health conditions, comprehensive treatment effectiveness requires integrating medication management with psychotherapeutic support, social rehabilitation, and environmental modification strategies that address underlying psychological and social determinants."

Advanced Vocabulary: pharmacological interventions, neurochemical imbalances, psychotherapeutic support, social rehabilitation, environmental modification, psychological determinants

Mistake 2: Confusing Discussion with Personal Mental Health Experience

Common Error: Beginning with "I think therapy is important because my friend felt better after counseling."

Why It's Wrong: Discussion essays require objective analysis of different viewpoints, not personal testimonials or anecdotal evidence.

Expert Fix: Begin analytically: "Mental health professionals and policymakers continue debating whether individual therapeutic intervention or comprehensive community-based approaches more effectively address population psychological wellness and treatment accessibility challenges."

Mistake 3: Limited Mental Health Vocabulary Range

Common Error: Repeatedly using basic terms like "crazy," "sad," "happy," "mental problems."

Why It's Wrong: Restricted vocabulary limits band score potential and fails to demonstrate academic writing sophistication while potentially perpetuating mental health stigma.

Expert Fix: Employ sophisticated alternatives:

  • Mental problems → psychological conditions, mental health challenges, psychiatric disorders
  • Sad → depressive symptoms, mood disturbances, emotional dysregulation
  • Treatment → therapeutic intervention, psychological support, clinical management

Mistake 4: Weak Mental Health Policy Examples

Common Error: "In my country, people don't talk about mental health because it's embarrassing."

Why It's Wrong: Vague, unspecific examples that don't demonstrate analytical thinking or global mental health awareness.

Expert Fix: "Australia's comprehensive mental health reform, including Medicare-subsidized psychological services and workplace mental health initiatives, demonstrates how integrated policy approaches can simultaneously address treatment accessibility, stigma reduction, and prevention strategies while maintaining clinical quality standards."

At BabyCode, we've guided 500,000+ students through mental health discussion essays using our specialized psychological vocabulary modules and evidence-based argument development frameworks. Our comprehensive approach helps students master sophisticated mental health terminology while developing sensitive, balanced analytical skills that consistently achieve Band 7+ scores.

Mistake 5: Unbalanced Mental Health Argument Development

Common Error: Writing 180 words supporting therapy approaches, 70 words for medication treatment.

Why It's Wrong: Discussion essays require approximately equal development of both perspectives to demonstrate comprehensive understanding of mental health treatment complexity.

Expert Fix: Allocate 125-140 words to each viewpoint, ensuring thorough analysis with specific examples and supporting evidence for both therapeutic and medical approaches to mental health care.

Mistake 6: Ignoring Mental Health Accessibility Issues

Common Error: "Everyone should get therapy when they have mental health problems."

Why It's Wrong: This oversimplifies complex barriers including economic constraints, geographic accessibility, cultural considerations, and systemic capacity limitations affecting mental health service provision.

Expert Fix: "While psychological support benefits mental wellness, sustainable mental health care requires addressing accessibility barriers including economic affordability, geographic availability, cultural competency, language accessibility, and systemic capacity that influence treatment engagement across diverse population groups."

Mistake 7: Poor Mental Health Statistics Integration

Common Error: "Many people have mental health issues nowadays."

Why It's Wrong: Vague statistics that don't support specific arguments or demonstrate research awareness of mental health prevalence and treatment effectiveness.

Expert Fix: "According to WHO research, approximately 970 million people globally experience mental health conditions, while evidence-based psychological interventions demonstrate 60-80% effectiveness rates when combined with appropriate social support, highlighting both the scale of mental health needs and treatment potential."

Mistake 8: Inadequate Social Context Analysis

Common Error: Focusing exclusively on individual treatment without acknowledging broader social determinants of mental health.

Why It's Wrong: Modern mental health discussions require understanding complex relationships between individual psychology, social environments, cultural factors, and community support systems.

Expert Fix: "Contemporary mental health frameworks recognize the interconnectedness of individual psychological factors with social determinants including economic security, community connectivity, cultural identity, and environmental stressors, requiring integrated approaches that address both personal and systemic influences on mental wellness."

Our specialized mental health vocabulary system teaches 400+ advanced psychological, psychiatric, and wellness terms through contextual application exercises. Students master sophisticated mental health terminology including clinical concepts, treatment modalities, and policy analysis vocabulary, achieving significant improvements in Task 2 mental health essay band scores through our adaptive learning platform.

Mistake 9: Weak Transitions Between Mental Health Arguments

Common Error: "Also, another way to help mental health is..."

Why It's Wrong: Poor transitions disrupt essay flow and fail to demonstrate advanced academic writing sophistication in sensitive mental health discussions.

Expert Fix: "Conversely, community-based mental health advocates emphasize..." or "While individual therapy provides targeted intervention, population-level approaches offer..."

Mistake 10: Insufficient Workplace Mental Health Analysis

Common Error: "Companies should care about workers' mental health."

Why It's Wrong: Lacks nuanced understanding of workplace mental health programs, their implementation challenges, effectiveness measures, and policy implications.

Expert Fix: "Workplace mental health initiatives require balancing employee psychological support with productivity objectives, privacy protection, and cost-effectiveness considerations, while ensuring programs address diverse workforce mental health needs through evidence-based intervention strategies and culturally responsive approaches."

Mistake 11: Generic Mental Health Conclusions

Common Error: "Both therapy and medicine can help people with mental health problems."

Why It's Wrong: Fails to synthesize arguments or demonstrate sophisticated analysis of integrated mental health treatment approaches.

Expert Fix: "While both therapeutic intervention and pharmacological treatment offer distinct benefits for mental health conditions, optimal psychological wellness likely emerges from personalized care models that integrate evidence-based treatments with social support systems and environmental modifications tailored to individual needs and cultural contexts."

Mistake 12: Misunderstanding Mental Health Stigma

Common Error: "People should just not be embarrassed about mental health."

Why It's Wrong: Oversimplifies complex social, cultural, and psychological factors contributing to mental health stigma without addressing systematic stigma reduction strategies.

Expert Fix: "Mental health stigma reduction requires comprehensive approaches including public education campaigns, media representation improvement, policy reform, healthcare provider training, and community engagement initiatives that address misconceptions while promoting understanding of mental health as integral to overall wellness."

Mistake 13: Poor Technology-Mental Health Integration Analysis

Common Error: "Apps can help people with mental health problems."

Why It's Wrong: Lacks nuanced analysis of digital mental health technology's benefits, limitations, ethical considerations, and integration with traditional care models.

Expert Fix: "Digital mental health technologies including therapy apps, peer support platforms, and AI-assisted screening tools offer scalable accessibility while raising considerations about clinical effectiveness, data privacy, therapeutic relationships, and appropriate integration with professional mental health services."

Mistake 14: Inadequate Cultural Mental Health Perspective

Common Error: Focusing exclusively on Western mental health approaches without acknowledging cultural diversity in psychological wellness concepts.

Why It's Wrong: Demonstrates limited global awareness and fails to recognize diverse cultural approaches to mental health and psychological well-being worldwide.

Expert Fix: "Mental health promotion strategies must acknowledge cultural diversity in psychological wellness concepts, from Indigenous healing practices to collectivist community support models, recognizing that effective mental health interventions adapt to cultural contexts while promoting universal psychological well-being principles."

Our comprehensive mental health writing program combines advanced vocabulary development, sensitive argument construction, and detailed evidence-based analysis training. Students receive expert feedback on essay organization, psychological terminology usage, and analytical sophistication through our specialized mental health writing assessment system, ensuring consistent Band 7+ performance while maintaining appropriate sensitivity.

Mistake 15: Weak Mental Health Economics Understanding

Common Error: "Mental health treatment is expensive, so government should pay for it."

Why It's Wrong: Oversimplifies complex mental health economics including cost-effectiveness analysis, prevention investment, and sustainable financing models.

Expert Fix: "Mental health economics involves complex cost-benefit considerations including treatment expenditure, prevention investment, productivity impacts, and long-term societal benefits, requiring sustainable financing models that balance immediate care accessibility with comprehensive prevention strategies and evidence-based resource allocation."

Question: Some people believe that mental health problems should be treated primarily through professional therapy and counseling, while others argue that community support and social connections are more important. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Sample Response:

Contemporary mental health discourse increasingly examines whether professional therapeutic intervention or community-based support systems provide more effective pathways to psychological wellness and recovery. This fundamental debate influences mental health service delivery models, resource allocation strategies, and treatment accessibility frameworks across diverse cultural and economic contexts worldwide.

Professional therapy advocates emphasize evidence-based treatment methodologies and clinical expertise that trained mental health professionals provide through structured therapeutic interventions. Psychological therapies including cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic approaches, and trauma-informed care demonstrate measurable effectiveness in treating specific mental health conditions through systematic assessment, targeted intervention, and progress monitoring that community support alone cannot replicate. Professional therapists possess specialized training in diagnostic assessment, crisis intervention, and evidence-based treatment protocols that ensure appropriate care matching individual needs and symptom severity. Furthermore, therapeutic relationships provide confidential, non-judgmental environments where individuals can explore sensitive psychological issues, develop coping strategies, and process traumatic experiences with professional guidance that maintains ethical boundaries and clinical standards essential for psychological safety and treatment effectiveness.

Conversely, community support advocates argue that social connections, peer relationships, and cultural belonging provide fundamental psychological resources that professional services cannot fully replace or replicate. Social support networks offer ongoing emotional validation, practical assistance, shared experience understanding, and community integration that contribute significantly to mental wellness and recovery sustainability. Community-based approaches, including peer support groups, cultural healing practices, and neighborhood mental health initiatives, demonstrate effectiveness in reducing isolation, building resilience, and maintaining long-term psychological stability through authentic relationships and cultural relevance. Additionally, community support systems provide accessible, culturally appropriate mental health resources that overcome barriers including cost, stigma, language, and cultural misunderstanding that may limit professional service engagement across diverse populations.

In my opinion, optimal mental health care integrates professional therapeutic expertise with robust community support systems through collaborative models that leverage both clinical effectiveness and social connectivity. The most successful mental health approaches, exemplified by comprehensive programs in countries like Finland and New Zealand, demonstrate that coordinated professional-community partnerships achieve superior psychological outcomes while maintaining both clinical standards and cultural responsiveness.

Analysis:

  • Task Response: Comprehensively addresses both viewpoints with clear, well-reasoned personal opinion advocating integration
  • Vocabulary: Sophisticated mental health terminology (therapeutic interventions, psychodynamic approaches, trauma-informed care, social connectivity)
  • Grammar: Complex sentence structures demonstrating advanced language control and academic register
  • Coherence: Logical progression with effective transitions connecting mental health arguments
  • Examples: Specific, relevant examples (Finland and New Zealand programs, specific therapy types)

Clinical Mental Health

  • Therapeutic intervention modalities
  • Evidence-based treatment protocols
  • Diagnostic assessment procedures
  • Clinical outcome measurements
  • Psychological symptom management
  • Treatment adherence strategies

Community Mental Health

  • Peer support network development
  • Social connectivity enhancement
  • Community resilience building
  • Cultural healing practice integration
  • Neighborhood mental health initiatives
  • Collective wellness promotion

Mental Health Policy

  • Psychological service accessibility
  • Mental health system integration
  • Stigma reduction policy frameworks
  • Prevention program development
  • Workforce development strategies
  • Quality assurance mechanisms

Psychological Wellness

  • Mental resilience cultivation
  • Emotional regulation development
  • Stress management techniques
  • Coping strategy enhancement
  • Psychological recovery processes
  • Well-being optimization approaches

Our comprehensive mental health vocabulary platform ensures students master sophisticated psychological terminology through contextual application and repeated practice. The system's intelligent tracking monitors vocabulary development progress while providing personalized recommendations for expanding mental health policy and clinical analysis writing capabilities with appropriate sensitivity and precision.

  1. Some people believe that mental health education should be mandatory in all schools, while others argue that it should be addressed primarily within families. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

  2. Medication-based treatment versus psychological therapy approaches each have their supporters among mental health professionals. Discuss both perspectives and provide your viewpoint.

  3. Some argue that workplace mental health programs are essential for employee wellness, while others believe that mental health should remain a private matter. Discuss both views and state your opinion.

  4. Online mental health resources versus face-to-face counseling continue generating debate among healthcare providers. Discuss both approaches and give your own view.

  5. Some people think that mental health awareness campaigns reduce stigma, while others believe they may increase anxiety about psychological problems. Discuss both viewpoints and provide your opinion.

Structure Mastery

  • Introduction: Present both mental health perspectives with appropriate sensitivity
  • Body Paragraph 1: Develop professional treatment arguments with clinical evidence
  • Body Paragraph 2: Analyze community support approach benefits comprehensively
  • Conclusion: Synthesize arguments with balanced, integrated mental health philosophy

Vocabulary Enhancement Techniques

  • Replace basic mental health terms with sophisticated psychological alternatives
  • Integrate clinical terminology and community mental health concepts appropriately
  • Use evidence-based treatment and wellness program collocations accurately
  • Demonstrate understanding of mental health complexity while maintaining sensitivity

Example Development Strategies

  • Reference specific mental health programs or treatment approaches
  • Include relevant psychological research findings and effectiveness data
  • Compare different national approaches to mental health care provision
  • Analyze real-world mental health innovation implementations and outcomes

Our comprehensive mental health writing program combines advanced vocabulary development, sensitive argument construction, and detailed evidence-based analysis training. Students receive expert feedback on essay organization, psychological terminology usage, and analytical sophistication through our specialized mental health writing assessment system, ensuring consistent Band 7+ performance while maintaining appropriate clinical sensitivity and cultural awareness.

Q: How can I quickly develop sophisticated mental health vocabulary for IELTS Writing? A: Focus on learning psychological and clinical collocations in academic contexts rather than basic emotional terms. Practice using expressions like "therapeutic intervention," "evidence-based treatment," and "psychological resilience" in complete analytical sentences. Read peer-reviewed mental health research to understand sophisticated terminology usage patterns while maintaining appropriate sensitivity.

Q: What's the optimal essay structure for mental health discussion questions? A: Use a balanced 4-paragraph structure: introduction presenting both mental health perspectives, two body paragraphs with equal development (approximately 130-145 words each), and conclusion synthesizing arguments with your mental health philosophy. Maintain 290-310 words total for comprehensive analysis while ensuring appropriate tone throughout.

Q: How do I avoid oversimplifying complex mental health topics? A: Acknowledge multiple factors influencing psychological wellness. Instead of stating "therapy helps depression," discuss "evidence-based therapeutic interventions address depressive symptoms through cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, and social support enhancement, though treatment effectiveness depends on individual factors, cultural context, and integrated care coordination."

Q: Should I include personal mental health experiences in my discussion essay? A: Avoid personal anecdotes entirely. Focus on clinical research, policy analysis, treatment effectiveness studies, and global mental health approaches. Maintain objective, sensitive analytical tone throughout while demonstrating sophisticated understanding of mental health system complexity and individual needs.

Q: How can I make my mental health arguments more academically sophisticated? A: Integrate clinical psychology concepts, mental health policy analysis, treatment outcome research, and cultural mental health perspectives. Discuss evidence-based effectiveness, accessibility considerations, and integrated care models rather than simple treatment descriptions, while maintaining appropriate sensitivity to mental health challenges.

Expand your IELTS Writing expertise with these complementary mental health and wellness resources:

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