Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression seem to have increased over the past two years. We have all had an extremely difficult time having to worry about our own health, our love ones, our relationships, our jobs, our finances, and other worries. These worries were intensified during the lockdown and has been causing difficulties in people's lives. At R Hoyte Psychotherapy Services (www.rhoyte.co.uk) we have seen an increase in young people and adults presenting with anxiety and depression.

With the highly publicised reports of racism, misogyny, homophobia and the persecution of some religious groups in our society, not just by members of the public but by some members of the police force (recent reports on comments made by some police officers on whatsapp), we have begun to fear the very people who at there to protect us. How do we live with these increasing fears and anxieties and how do we navigate them in a way that allows us to hold on to our happiness and not let our anxieties overwhelm us?

We live in a society that tells us "to keep calm and carry on", but what meaning do we make of this. Does this mean we should suppress our feelings and pretend that we are ok. this statement will have different meanings to different people and depending on how we make sense of the messages we receive, it will either help or hinder us in our daily lives.

There comes a time when we need to seek help to manage our fears and anxieties. There comes a time when we need help from a professional. Seeking help from a Psychotherapist can help us,

• to make sense of our lives and the world we live in

• to learn to navigate our various challenges in life

• to improve our relationships and have more meaningful relationships

• to reduce our fear and manage our anxieties

• to improve our low mood and depression

• to reconnect to our happiness

Visit R Hoyte Psychotherapy Service (www.rhoyte.co.uk) to learn more about psychotherapy and see how it can help you live a happier life.

Post pandemic anxiety and depression

I am a Psychotherapist with a passion for helping people overcome their difficulties and live happier lives. I have over ten years of experience as a psychotherapist and I am registered with UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy) and AFT (Association for FamilyTherapy).

Qualifications:

MA in Systemic & Family Psychotherapy from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, which is one of the leading institutions for Psychotherapy training.

MSc in Child, Adolescent & Family Mental Health from the Metropolitan University.

BSc in Psychology from Birkbeck University London (UCL)

Experience:

I have worked in various mental health settings (NHS and Private) providing individual psychotherapy, couple therapy and family therapy. My desire to help others has allowed me to approach therapy from a non-judgmental, caring and supportive position and to provide a therapeutic service that is individualized to the person’s needs. This is reflected in the way I work and my approach to therapy.

Specialism and interest include, Eating disorders, stress management, anxiety, depression, couples therapy, family therapy, relationship difficulties, parent/child relationships, developing positive self-identity.

I have supported people’s recovery for anorexia, binging eating disorders, bulimia and other eating disorders. I believe that recovery encompuses the physical and psychological and I have a holistic approach to recovery which includes exploring all aspects of the person’s life that may be having an adverse impact on them.

I have supported people in their recovery from anxiety and depression both within the child and adolescent population and within the adult population, helping people to develop coping strategies and patterns of behaviour that allows them to manage their anxiety and to improve their mood and live happy lives.

I believe that it is important for clients to feel comfortable during the therapeutic process and the importance of a good client/therapist relationship. At the heart of my clinical practice is someone who is caring and compassionate and understands the importance of creating a safe space to explore feelings and emotions. I am adept at helping clients explore and navigate relationships within their family and the wider society and also helping them to explore their relationships with food and eating and explore the unhelpful patterns that they may have developed. My therapeutic work is collaborative with clients to help them deconstruct the factors that impact them emotionally and to support them in developing the emotional resilience to manage complex situations and emotions.

Navigating relationship difficulties

Many relationships encounter difficulties, relationships are about two people coming together and forming one unit that works together, supporting each other and building a future together. Some may disagree with the idea of becoming one unit and may put up an argument for holding to their individuality and not compromising this individuality for anyone, i.e., not changing who they are or how they do things.

Becoming one unit that works together is different to one person trying to change the other, in order for people/entities to coexist harmoniously they need to achieve homeostasis, this is important for psychological harmony and happiness as well as the practical harmony that will allow couples and families to coexist successfully. This therefore suggest that we cannot completely operate from an individual perspective as this seems to defeat the essence of being in a relationship. The challenge therefore is how do both individuals achieve the right balance, where they make the necessary changes to allow them to be vulnerable and honest with each other so they can co-construct the type of relationship that allows both of them to be happy. What sometimes happen is that one person tries to shape the relationship on their terms rather than co-construct the relationship together.

How do our understanding of relationships develop? Many people ideas of how relationships should work are based on their parents relationship and the relationships of friends and family. These relationships seem to provide a framework in their understanding and expectation of how they should be in relationships, what role they have and what role their partner should have, sometimes these ideas of roles and expectations collide causing a relationship rupture, this can result in battle lines being drawn and create ongoing difficulties in the relationship. When these situations occur relationships become adversary rather than nurturing and supportive. To avoid further difficulties sometimes help in needed from a professional, at R Hoyte Psychotherapy Services (www.rhoyte.co.uk) we are experienced psychotherapists with years of experience helping individuals, couples and families navigate there relationships successfully. We provide a safe space that allow couples and families to be open and honest with each other in a constructive way and allow supportive, helpful conversations to take place.