How Jon Hamm was helped by therapy

Jon Hamm finds therapy "very helpful"

Jon Hamm thinks visiting a therapist is very helpful and recommends it to everyone.

The former 'Mad Men' actor first sought counselling after his father died when he was 20, 10 years after he lost his 

mother to cancer, and though he admits it is a "luxury" that not everyone can afford, he urges as many people as possibly to visit the "mental gym" and seek professional help.

He said: "I find it very helpful. I know the English are a lot more sceptical about it than Americans are, but maybe after Brexit, you'll change your minds...

"After I'd lost my dad, I had this horrible paralysing inertia - and no one in my family was capable of dealing with it. So what do you do? Go and see a professional. I preach it from the mountaintops. 

"I know it's a luxury and it's not something everyone can afford. But if you can, do it. It's like a mental gym."

Last year, the 45-year-old star underwent a stint in rehab for alcoholism and thinks residential facilities are "great" for helping people to change and overhaul their lifestyles.

He told Net-a-Porter's The Journal: "[Rehab] has all these connotations, but it's just an extended period of talking about yourself. People go for all sorts of reasons, not all of which are chemically related. But there's something to be said for pulling yourself out of the grind for a period of time and concentrating on recalibrating the system. And it works. It's great."

The 'Keeping Up With The Joneses' star - who split from long-term partner Jennifer Westfeldt last year - doesn't think having children is an essential part of his future, but he won't rule out having a family one day.

Asked if having kids is part of his agenda, he said: "I don't know. I don't think it's necessarily an imperative. I'm not going to psychoanalyse myself here, but... well, never say never.

"I've got nieces and nephews and I've been a teacher. I've probably been around kids a lot more than all my friends. I feel if you shut that off entirely you calcify. You turn into that guy."