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The hottest thing a man can do is go to therapy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n That was it\u2014that was the one-line review for my upcoming book, Extracurricular<\/em>, that stopped me in my tracks.<\/p>\n The character in question is, yes, very hot. (I made him up, I can say that!) He\u2019s a psychology professor with a slutty little earring, a confident golden retriever of a man<\/a> who roots tirelessly for the worst team in the NBA.<\/p>\n And yet his most attractive trait? The fact that he\u2019s working on himself.<\/strong><\/p>\n When a former pop star enrolls in college, the last thing she expects is A-plus chemistry with her psychology professor in this sexy and tender romance from #1 New York Times<\/em> bestselling author Rachel Lynn Solomon.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Use code ‘TheEverygirl’ to get 3 books for the price of 1 with a new Libro.fm membership<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n To be clear, I love that review. I\u2019ve dealt with depression, anxiety, and OCD for most of my life. I\u2019ve been on and off different medications<\/a> and in and out of therapy<\/a>, so it\u2019s only natural that mental health has found a way into my storytelling. Whether I\u2019m writing a workplace romance, an expat love story, or something with a touch of the taboo, my characters are always figuring themselves out along the way.<\/strong> And that journey probably isn\u2019t linear\u2026 because it rarely is in real life.<\/p>\n On the surface, Extracurricular <\/em>is a forbidden student-professor romance about a retired pop star who decides to go back to college. What may not be obvious from the summary, though, is that both those characters are in therapy. Ramona is recovering from a toxic career that nearly pushed her to a breaking point, and Nick is processing the aftermath of a divorce. Neither of them is cured by the end of the book\u2014but they do fall for each other, slowly revealing their vulnerabilities when they realize they\u2019ve found someone they can trust.<\/p>\n Romance novels are the perfect place to explore mental health<\/a>, in part because there\u2019s always the guarantee of a soft place to land at the end. But it\u2019s more than that\u2014I think it\u2019s crucial to show people who are fully deserving of love, even when their own brains are working against them.<\/strong><\/p>\n In all honesty, it took me a while to figure this out. I used to think writing about mental health meant making it The Main Plot, even though I\u2019m more interested in stories where a mental illness just happens to be part of the character\u2019s life and not their entire world. When I outlined these types of books, I\u2019d envision a third-act breakup scene where the main character decides they need to seek help for their mental illness before they\u2019re ready to be in a relationship. But the way they\u2019d hit pause would be too clich\u00e9, too manipulated by me as the author. I was hunting for a climax, a reason to break them up so I could bring them together again.<\/p>\n “Sometimes the hottest thing anyone can do, regardless of gender, is go to therapy\u2026while also demonstrating some top-tier yearning for the person they\u2019re not supposed to want.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Of course, no two mental health journeys are the same. And while sometimes choosing to be single for a bit might be the healthiest approach\u2014and in certain cases might truly be necessary\u2014it\u2019s not always the most realistic. Sometimes a relationship is two people digging themselves out together, supporting each other while one or both of them undergo treatment. And I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s any truer expression of love.<\/p>\n These days, I\u2019m trying to show more nuance in my writing. I want to write those stories about two people digging themselves out together, and that was my goal with Extracurricular<\/em>. <\/strong>There\u2019s a (non-spoiler!) quote toward the end that I hope captures that exact sentiment:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you showed up in class the first day of the quarter, I was so deep in my own head, I didn\u2019t know if anything could drag me out. And then you were there, insulting me and challenging me and making me believe I could trust someone again. We were both in the dark, I think, but somehow we could still see each other.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe timing and circumstances were\u2026 questionable,\u201d he continues with a quarter smile, \u201cbut Ramona, you didn\u2019t just drag me out of the dark. You gave me a flashlight, and you let me follow you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n As a reader, I\u2019m similarly drawn to books that show a breadth of experiences\u2014characters on wild romantic adventures<\/a> while they work through mental health challenges, whether they\u2019re already in therapy or taking medication, or if making those decisions is part of their character arc.<\/p>\n Sometimes the hottest thing anyone can do, regardless of gender, is go to therapy\u2026 while also demonstrating some top-tier yearning<\/a> for the person they\u2019re not supposed to want.<\/p>\n Visit The Everygirl Book Club’s Bookshop.org storefront<\/a> to load up your TBR.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n With that in mind, I hope you enjoy reading Extracurricular<\/em> once it releases as much as I did writing it, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite romance novels that normalize mental health treatment:<\/strong><\/p>\n This one is a gem because it\u2019s all about mental health. The protagonist is a therapist opening a bed-and-breakfast for the brokenhearted, and there\u2019s nothing but empathy for every character who books a room there\u2014and especially for the love interest, the property\u2019s landlord with a complicated history of his own. O\u2019Clover strikes a balance between realistic and escapist with lush descriptions of the Colorado setting. A warning: the last sentence will sink into your bones and stay with you forever.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n The premise is such classic romcom perfection, even the title is poking fun at it. A podcaster and her producer anonymously fall in love over email, unaware they already know and can\u2019t stand each other in real life. What sets this book apart is how richly developed the characters are. Katz excels at making them feel like real people\u2014you swoon with them, you rage with them, you hurt with them. From page one, the book lets us know that main character Yael is on medication, and her bipolar disorder is written with utmost thought and care. Yael is never reduced to a stereotype\u2014rather, it\u2019s simply one facet of her identity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n This debut follows a skeptic and a cryptid expert who team up on a web series devoted to debunking (or proving, depending on who you ask) paranormal conspiracy theories. It\u2019s a little quirky, a little spooky, and one hundred percent entertaining. The touch of the supernatural is deftly balanced by the way Marlowe weaves in authentic, realistic depictions of mental health. The hero is living with depression and grief, and therapy and antidepressants are both casually mentioned. It\u2019s so refreshing to see that normalized, particularly for men.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n A woman falls for the sister of the man she\u2019s fake-dating while on their family\u2019s annual Christmas cabin trip. It might sound messy, but Cochrun\u2019s charming writing makes it easy to get on board with the setup. And who doesn\u2019t want a little mess in their romance? Protagonist Ellie is an animator who recently lost her dream job, and she\u2019s been struggling with generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks. This was actually one of the first holiday romances I read that convinced me I might like holiday romance. It\u2019s an utter delight full of imperfect, endearing, unforgettable characters.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n window.fd(‘form’, { Rachel Lynn Solomon writes about imperfect people falling in love. She is the New York Times<\/em> and USA Today<\/em> bestselling author of The Ex Talk<\/em>, Business or Pleasure<\/em>, Today Tonight Tomorrow<\/em>, and other romantic comedies for teens and adults. Her books have been optioned for film and translated into 20 languages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Feature graphic images credited to: Sabreen Lakhani | Rachel Lynn Solomon<\/a>, Cassie Kollmeyer | Dupe<\/a>. Products included in graphics linked within article.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Rachel Lynn Solomon on Why the Hottest Thing a Man Can Do Is Go to Therapy<\/a> appeared first on The Everygirl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"Extracurricular\"](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mental-health-in-romance-novels-the-everygirl1.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nRachel Lynn Solomon<\/div>\n\n
\n Extracurricular <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on Bookshop.org<\/a>
\n Buy on Amazon<\/a>
\n Buy on Libro.fm<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nExclusive Libro.fm offer!<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nEllen O\u2019Clover<\/div>\n\n
\n The Heartbreak Hotel <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on BOOKSHOP.ORG<\/a>
\n Buy on AMAZON<\/a>
\n Buy on LIBRO.FM<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Isn\u2019t](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rachel-lynn-solomon-the-everygirl-2.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nRachel Runya Katz<\/div>\n\n
\n Isn\u2019t It Obvious? <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on BOOKSHOP.ORG<\/a>
\n Buy on AMAZON.COM<\/a>
\n Buy on LIBRO.FM<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Love](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rachel-lynn-solomon-the-everygirl-3.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nMallory Marlow<\/div>\n\n
\n Love and Other Conspiracies <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on BOOKSHOP.ORG<\/a>
\n Buy on AMAZON<\/a>
\n Buy on LIBRO.FM<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n
\n ![\"Kiss](\"https:\/\/media.theeverygirl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rachel-lynn-solomon-the-everygirl-4.jpg\")
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\nAlison Cochrun<\/div>\n\n
\n Kiss Her Once For Me <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n Buy on BOOKSHOP.ORG<\/a>
\n Buy on AMAZON<\/a>
\n Buy on LIBRO.FM<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n <\/div>\n\nABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/div>\n\nRachel Lynn Solomon, Bestselling Author<\/h3>\n
READ RACHEL’S FULL BIO<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n