NEWS FEATURE - THINKING THERAPY

“Around 90 per cent of people will see someone like me at some point in their lives, although most are unlikely to want anyone to know.”

Therapist Mary Roberts smiles philosophically when asked about the stigma relating to her profession.

Despite high profile figures such as Marcus Trescothick, Stephen Fry, Alastair Campbell and Fern Britton being brave enough ‘come out’ about their depression, there are many more – like German goalkeeper Robert Enke – who couldn’t bear anyone to know about their mental health issues.

With more than 15 years’ experience in counselling, and a background in psychiatric nursing, Mary is very aware of the embarrassment many people feel about receiving psychological support.

However, as the recession deepens, more people than ever before are seeking her help for depression, stress and anxiety.

Mary – based at the Roy Fletcher Centre in Cross Hill, Shrewsbury – specialises in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which aims to change the patterns of thinking and behaviour that are behind people’s difficulties, and help them to feel better.

“CBT is a short-term, focused treatment, aimed at solving a problem, not just talking about it,” she says. “We try to identify more helpful ways of thinking and alter unhelpful behaviour patterns.

“Fear of redundancy can impact on self-esteem and may lead people to stay in unsuitable employment that isn’t helping them or giving them any personal growth. Putting up with a job or employer you hate reinforces negative feelings and, even when the financial situation improves, you are left with that negative self-image.”

An example of how the current economic crisis affects people is the case of Sarah*, one of a pool of 40 employees, half of whom were to be made redundant.

Anxiety

“The supervisor would tap someone on the shoulder and ask ‘can I have a word’ then take them off to an office to tell them they had been selected for redundancy,” says Mary. “Imagine how the rest of the team felt, watching that and waiting for their turn?

“The situation led to Sarah suffering from depression and anxiety. It also had an impact on productivity, because nobody was working effectively through this process. Sarah was not one of the ones to be made redundant, but was left feeling very negative.

“We talked about other options in life – because work isn’t everything and we sometimes need to remember that we have other things in our lives that are positive and enjoyable.

“A lot of Sarah’s frustration was caused by her being viewed as a ‘safe pair of hands’ and, although she stayed in her job, she didn’t feel valued. So we worked on assertiveness and a communication strategy that helped her explain to her employer how she wanted to progress in her career – that was good for her and for the company too.”

Mary explains how CBT helps people to recognise that sometimes their view of life, work or relationships can become distorted.

“We then look for evidence to back up our perceptions and reject anything that counteracts the distortion. That leads to behaviour that perpetuates the situation.

“Therapy can help challenge beliefs, and find the reality. My aim is to help gain a realistic appraisal of the situation and what you can do about it.”

Mary has noticed a marked increase in workplace bullying recently – a trend borne out by a Unison survey published last week, which found that up to a third of public sector staff had experienced bullying at work.

“Of course, some people become the bully because they are stressed themselves,” says Mary. “But anxiety or panic attacks caused by fears for the future can escalate. Some people try to deal with this by overwork, leading to burnout. Other people become paralysed by their fears and unable to perform their duties.

Distressing

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is very commonly triggered by stress, and those desperate to ensure that they don’t make a mistake at work can find that their OCD leads to laborious and repeated checking of their work. This is extremely distressing to the individual, but can also lead to the scenario they most want to avoid – being sacked because their employer sees them as unproductive.

“Low mood is characterised by lack of motivation or interest in everyday activities and also poor concentration. This directly impacts on individuals’ abilities to perform their duties effectively, thereby reinforcing their beliefs and fears about themselves and their employability.”

Stress and anxiety are well known to trigger relationship problems, causing arguments, poor communication and feelings of isolation.

“I have also seen a rise in substance abuse or self-medication – people using alcohol or cannabis as a coping strategy,” says Mary. “The problem there is that once they become hooked, even if their other issues are resolved, they still have to deal with the substance misuse problem.”

CBT is recognised by NICE guidelines as the treatment of choice for depression and anxiety disorders and the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies has lists of accredited CBT specialists. The therapy can also help people suffering from eating disorders, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, sleep problems, anger issues or sexual and relationship problems.

Anyone who thinks they – or someone they know – would benefit from CBT should first see their own GP to get a proper assessment and find out if the GP agrees that some kind of psychological counselling would be appropriate.

NHS waiting lists can be quite long, but there is currently a Government initiative to train thousands of new therapists so hopefully that will enable people to access NHS help quicker. Given the financial situation at the moment, people understandably prioritise mortgages and vital expenses, however many large companies have employee health insurance, which employees can access without any risk to their job.

Says Mary: “The majority of people I see are strong, capable, creative and innovative. Their problems stem from finding themselves in situations where they have no control. CBT offers a practical approach, working together to find solutions.”

SOURCES OF HELP

• Mary Roberts, Independent CBT Practitioner – 01743 247046, email: mary13666@gmail.com
• MIND – the leading mental health charity for England and Wales 0845 766 0163 www.mind.org.uk
• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)  0161 797 4484 www.babcp.com

*Sarah’s identity has been changed to protect her privacy