EXPERIENCED COUNSELLOR and psychotherapist Anthony Davis has expressed serious concerns around the rises in cases of racial trauma and LGBTQ+ isolation among Black African and Caribbean communities.
My clients have experienced anxiety related to job losses, redundancy or furlough and how to maintain financial stability for them and their families
Anthony Davis
Davis, who is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), recently shared his views on how the mental health of people from African and Caribbean backgrounds has been impacted in the last 17 months.
Practicing in both the United Kingdom and United States, he has worked with clients in a primary care setting and in private practice exhibiting a range of difficulties that impact their lives and cause them emotional and psychological distress.
He was also a contributor to a recent report by the British Therapists from the BACP, the largest survey of 4,923 UK therapists since the start of the pandemic.
“In regard to my male clients, specifically African and Caribbean men, there has been an increase of referrals due to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and triggered racialised trauma,” Davis said.
Therapists raised concerns through open-ended responses supplied to the BACP as part of the Mindometer report survey, with researches identifying key themes across both the general population and Black African, Asian and minority ethnic groups.
Speaking about his first-hand experience with indivuals since the pandemic, Davis said: “This past year has been increasingly difficult for individuals to manage their anxiety and low mood.
“My clients have experienced anxiety related to job losses, redundancy or furlough and how to maintain financial stability for them and their families.
“There has also been health-related anxiety and the fear of contracting COVID-19. The relationships of my clients have further been impacted by the pandemic with more referrals from couples exhibiting difficulties relating to poor communication, limited intimacy, and repressed anger from unresolved conflicts.”
The Mindometer report also revealed that 93 per cent of therapists have perceived an increased mental strain in the general population.
While anxiety (87 per cent), stress/feeling overwhelmed (82 per cent) and loneliness/social isolation (72 per cent) are the top three most commonly presented problems that BACP therapists report a shift in, including people presenting with mental health issues for the first time in their lives.
Drawing on his extensive experience in working with the Black, African and Caribbean LGBTQ+ communities for both London-based and online clients, Davis has seen an increase in loneliness and isolation among individuals struggling to cope with significant changes to their lives.
As many Pride events were cancellend again this year, he highlights reduced access to friends and support from the community taking its toll, triggering issues with self-acceptance.
“The LGBTQ+ community has further experienced difficulties during the pandemic due to social media fatigue, having to move in with families or to hometowns that are not accepting of their sexuality, and social isolation from limited interaction with others.” Davis says.
More than half (51 per cent) of therapists think we will continue to see the impact of COVID-19 on people’s mental health for up to five years, while a further third (36 per cent) thinks the impact could last for more than five years.
There are also service delivery challenges that need to be addressed: 80 per cent of the respondents say demand for therapy is either full or over capacity at the practice or service they work in.
Encouragingly, while Davis’s services have been in high demand, like many therapists he has been able to offer both face-to-face and online counselling sessions to help address the issues faced by his clients across the UK.
He said: “The approach to my practice is integrative which allows me to draw from various therapeutic modalities to tailor therapy to your individual and unique needs.
“Some modalities I utilise include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, mindfulness, person-centred, existential, and psychodynamic.”
“In my work with clients, I have witnessed how counselling supports them to develop adaptive coping strategies, heal from trauma experiences and foster healthy relationships with significant others.”
Davis backs a call for increased training and understanding of racial trauma among all UK therapists, as featured the report, in order to appropriately assist individuals who are dealing with this strain on their mental health.
Registered BACP therapists said in the report that all therapists have a ‘‘responsibility to seek training on racial trauma and the impact of racism on mental health”.
BACP is currently working with a group of therapy organisations to develop a toolkit tailored to the needs of diverse groups to support those delivering training, such as tutors, programme leaders, courses and training institutions, through recommended resources and activities.
Other issues that therapists have seen increases in since the pandemic include eating disorders (26 per cent), relationship pressures and breakdowns (65 per cent) and addiction, addictive behaviours and substance misuse (20 per cent).
To find a qualified BACP therapist who specialises in your individual needs visit https://www.bacp.co.uk/search/Register
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