LONDON: At a London park, dozens of young people gathered, awaiting the starting signal, then screamed at the top of their voices—all in a bid to release tension.

So-called scream therapy is a technique that is rapidly growing in popularity on TikTok and has made its way to Britain from the United States.

“It was very therapeutic,” 23-year-old Rebekah Drakes said after screaming at the top of Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath, in the north of the British capital.

She, along with other participants mostly in their 20s, were taking part in a “Scream Club” on Saturday.

“I feel like you don’t realise how much you’re holding in until you can let it all out,” the bartender added.

Mona Sharif organised the event after seeing on TikTok that people were gathering to scream together in the United States.

“I made a TikTok saying that London should do one and from that video I created a group chat after I gained some traction and views and likes,” she said.

“A thousand people joined the group chat within three days,” she explained.

Sharif counted to three and then everyone let out a roar while filming themselves on their phones, much to the surprise of passersby.

“It’s kind of drawing from, like, group therapy,” she said.

In this case, “people are letting out frustrations that they can’t really talk about”.

Julia Dewit, a 29-year-old teacher, was pleased that so many women took part.

“There is sort of a stigma around women being told to sort of be calm and cool under pressure,” she said.

“I think that nowadays, talking about how we’re feeling and mental health is a lot more prominent than how it was in previous years, which is a really good thing.”

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2025