Prince Harry’s mental health admission during unexpected appearance

Prince Harry has opened up on his mental health journey. Photo / AP

Prince Harry has opened up about seeking help in the form of a therapist after leaving life as a working royal.

The Duke of Sussex made an unexpected appearance at the Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco where he spoke openly about his own mental health journey and how he learned to cope.

“I have a coach. I wish I had two,” the 38-year-old revealed, as quoted by Financial Times correspondent David Lee’s Twitter.

Harry’s appearance and comments were confirmed by Kurt Schrader, the CEO and co-founder of Shortcut who shared a photo of Harry on stage with BetterUp’s Alexi Robichaux and entrepreneur Reid Hoffman.

He took to Twitter praising the duke for his admission: “Great to hear someone who you think grew up with everything talk about the need for therapy and coaching for everyone.”

“Prince Harry says growing up in the royal family & and then spending 10 years in the military, he never heard the words ‘therapy’ or ‘coaching,’” Doron Weber, vice-president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation tweeted. “Then the blinkers came off and his life changed.”

Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D’Oyen McKenna shared what he said was Harry’s advice to the bosses in the room.

“‘From a boss standpoint, if you see your people as numbers, you will fail.’”

“‘You can’t treat them as numbers, but folks who need a human connection to fire on all cylinders.’”

“Wise words from Prince Harry!” he added.

Harry reportedly also discussed the idea of viewing mental health as a way of unlocking human potential and not just as a “mental illness” according to emergency doctor Bon Ku.

BetterUp, who Harry serves as a chief impact officer for, shared a photo of Harry and Robichaux on social media, revealing that they will discuss “why leaders need to focus on their mental fitness to scale their impact”.

BetterUp works with employees on coaching and mental health services.

Last year Harry shared in a blog post why he joined BetterUp, believing in the company’s mission of being proactive about mental health.

“Being attuned with your mind, and having a support structure around you, are critical to finding your own version of peak performance,” he shared at the time.