I have been considering the importance of Mental Health and how this impacts ourselves, from a holistic point of view. This includes family relationships, friendship circles, how we see ourselves, how we think about ourselves, and this can also impact our work relationships, and abilities for our job.
Having worked within the NHS in a previous job, the importance of Mental Health is also taken into consideration and services offered to accommodate this. However, going down this route and taking advantage of services offered, such as counselling service, for a duration of 6 limited sessions, this may not be from such a holistic point of view. My employers had an interested investment in myself from an employer’s perspective, not a holistic perspective.
In saying this, any root causes to my decline in Mental Health would not have been taken into consideration when helping me with current mental Health concerns. This meaning that, temporarily my Mental Health would improve before declining again, and potentially causing me to have to take time off work again (a bit like sticking a band aid over a cut, or the issue).
In my counselling work at MAC, I pride myself on seeing my clients as a ‘whole’. Taking into account, as much as possible, all past experiences that my client may previously have had, and that may be contributing to their current Mental Health difficulties. In working this way, I am not overly concerned with my client returning to work sooner rather than later. More so, I care about my client from a holistic perspective, including all aspects of themselves and how they see and think about themselves. In my experience, this approach allows my client to explore the root problem of their difficulty, without sticking a band aid over the issue – so to speak). My investment to my client, from a holistic perspective, and unlimited time scale can then allow them to move on in life without finding themselves stuck in a cycle of improving and declining Mental Health.
All thing considered and appreciating each person will have a different set of circumstances. Your Mental Health is key to living a life where you can enjoy relationships whilst having a positive relationship with yourself.
