Our members have been speaking in the media about the mental health impact of running a business, anxieties around the festive season, eco-anxiety – and how therapy can help.

They’ve have been talking about the value of counselling and psychotherapy in newspapers, magazines and online as well as on television and radio.

Small business owners

We launched a campaign which aims to encourage owners of small and medium sized (SME) business to look after their mental health and signpost them to our members.

It’s on the back of our survey of 500 small business owners which found that 96% of them say they keep the stress of running a business “bottled up”.

79% of small business owners find running a business stressful and almost 1 in 5 (19%) feel like giving up running their business every day.

68% feel like they have nobody to talk to about their problems and 56% feel like they need help with their mental health but don’t know where to start.

Kris Ambler, our Workforce Lead, and our member Michelle Seabrook provided expert comment for the campaign, which has featured across the media including in The Sun, The Independent, The Express, and The Mirror.

Michelle said: “Getting therapeutic support for stress does not mean waiting until crisis point. Those that have a strategic, proactive approach to managing stress find it easier to intervene early, which means that signs of impaired well-being are recognised before they become problematic. This is where accessing independent, qualified therapeutic help can be the game-changer. By investing in support for your mental health, you are investing in the future of your business.”

Kris added: “It’s important to seek mental health support to prevent business challenges from being overwhelming. This survey highlights the importance of seeking qualified counselling support for small business owners. It may just impact your bottom line.”

The interviews were arranged through our partnership with the 23red media agency. We’re working with the agency to increase our PR efforts to raise awareness of how counselling and psychotherapy can change lives and to drive people to BACP to find qualified therapists.

Seasonal stress

With the help of 23red, we’ve also launched a Seasonal Stress campaign on the back of our survey which found that 9.1 million UK adults feel stressed or anxious about Christmas.

The campaign encourages people to think about their mental health ahead of the festive season and, if necessary, to seek counselling support and not wait until the New Year, when members report seeing a spike in demand for therapy.

Our members Indira Chima, Dee Johnson, Philip Karahassan, Lina Mookerjee, Natasha Page and Louise Tyler took part in a radio day in which they spoke about the campaign to broadcast media including regional BBC radio stations and the national GB News channel.

It's also been covered in national newspapers and is set to be featured in more news and consumer media titles as Christmas gets closer.

Louise said: “People feeling anxious this holiday season might find it helpful to be proactive and seek mental health support ahead of January, which is when therapy enquiries typically spike.

"While it’s understandable people would seek therapy in the New Year to cope with issues that have arisen or been exacerbated over the holiday period, many don’t realise therapists are often exploring this already with existing clients to address stress in the run up to Christmas. If possible, people might consider beginning their therapy journey ahead of Christmas and not wait until January.”

Philip added: "The anxieties people face at Christmas can vary from the difficulties surrounding hosting family and friends and the pressures to make them enjoy it, to feelings of grief, loss, loneliness, sadness and dread. Talking to a therapist to help cope ahead of Christmas should never be a taboo topic.”

Eco-anxiety

To coincide with the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), we’ve also been working to highlight the impact of eco-anxiety and how counselling can support people.

Our member Linda Aspey contributed to an article in last weekend’s Sunday Times examining eco-anxiety. The article also included a statistic from our Public Perceptions Survey, which found that 55% of people felt climate change had impacted their mental health.

Linda, a BACP fellow and former chair of our Coaching division, has also put together a series of tips to help people with eco-anxiety, which will be shared on social media.

Linda said: "Climate anxiety is a very normal response to our collective awakening of the threats of climate change. If you feel that talking to friends or family is no longer helping, speak to a therapist."

To find a BACP member who can help you, visit our therapist directory.