I have been a highly successful Partner and Senior Director for nearly 20 years working in global management consultancies with blue chip organisations across Europe and N America.
I first entered into a depressive cycle in July 2005 as a result of issues at my work. I was introduced to Alan by one of Edinburgh’s pre-eminent Professors at Edinburgh University Medical Faculty by way of personal recommendation.
Alan worked with me over a three month period using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to structure a graduated process that returned me to health. This involved working with my GP, my Employer and my wife to ensure the right medical treatment, ensuring the work environment was correct for me to return to work successfully, and that my family understood how they could support me regarding the issues around my mental health.
Alan then followed up in the New Year when I was working to ensure that the environment was correct and that I was able to live a happy, successful and fulfilling life.
I subsequently moved employers in March 2007, but found that when I arrived in the role the position was quite different from that stated by my new employer. Instead of a successful, profitable growth business, it was a declining business which was losing money. The pressure from this role was the main reason that I entered into another depressive cycle in August 2007.
This cycle did not appear to be as deep as the one in 2005, so I tried to self treat myself with assistance from my GP for the same medication as I had been on before. This enabled me to return to work in September.
However, my employer refused to allow me a graduated return to work and the working environment was wrong for my emotional health. I entered into a deeper depressive cycle shortly after restarting work. For example I could not get out of my bed and was sleeping for over 18 hours a day.
I immediately sought the assistance of Alan, who started working with me through a process of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy again. This led to some health improvements into the New Year but I was still not able to work.
My employer then put me under surveillance and made serious allegations about fraudulently misrepresenting my health for personal gain; these allegations were shown to be false, but this had the effect of deepening my depressive cycle.
Alan worked through the issues with me regarding these allegations and gave me full unconditional support.
He also recognised that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was not a complete solution with the depth of my depressive cycle and the emotional issues I was facing. He structured a course for me in Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga, despite me being highly sceptical about this being able to help me. The course had the effect of calming my emotional issues, strengthening and supporting my Sresolve and positive views on life, almost eliminating the significant pain I was experiencing and giving me the strength to withstand the bullying and battering I was taking from my employers.
After three months of this course and strong support from Alan, I was back to sleeping for only 7 hours a night, able to undertake exercise, able to socialise, and have normal family relationships without the emotional highs and lows I was experiencing.
Again Alan worked with my GP and wife throughout this period in a way that was specifically relevant to my case.
There is some way to a complete return to health, but there is clear light at the end of the tunnel.
In my professional field, we are taught to look for the signs of depression in our staff, and how to help them. However neither in 2005 or August 2007 did I recognise the signs in myself and was in complete denial about my condition. In my experience, this is not a condition that you can treat yourself.
I have worked with professional personnel all my life but I have found Alan to be quite exceptional. I have found Alan to be
In summary, without Alan I could not have made a full recovery from my first depressive cycle , nor could I have made any form of recovery from the second cycle with the personal attacks from my employer, let alone be on a strong path to recovery.