CBT Therapy Case Study - Business Owner

Business Owner

Background

Dave* is a 37-year-old Plumber in Cheshire. He has been running his business for 12 years and has 10 employees.

He had always wanted to be his own boss so that he could be in control. He describes having been anxious and a worrier for most of his life. In his personal life he runs regularly and is currently training for Ironman.

He always seems to have a project on the go in the home/garden. He has been married for 2 years. Growing up he didn’t have much, and has been eager to create a different life for himself.

He describes a constant fear that his success won’t last, and feels the need to constantly be doing more. Apart from sports, he doesn’t have any other hobbies but somehow is always on the go. He’d started to get to the point of feeling like he was just existing rather than living.

Presenting problem

Dave went to the GP to get help with problems sleeping, and issues with indigestion.

The Doctor on speaking to him, suggested that Anxiety and Stress could be the cause of these symptoms. He googled ‘Cheshire Therapist near me’ and came across my website for CBT Therapy for Business Owners.

He was particularly drawn to my Straight-Talking approach as that fits with his own approach in business.

Assessment

This is Dave’s first experience of therapy. He wasn’t really sure what his problem was, or what he wanted to work on (this is not uncommon).

We started off by discussing the symptoms he was experiencing, and how they were impacting him.

Initially he said he wanted to be able to do more, whilst not feel exhausted. But we started to discuss that what he thinks he wants, versus what he actually needs, might not match up, and a different approach might be necessary.

Symptoms

Exhaustion
Poor sleep
Difficulty relaxing
Poor concentrating
Lack of enjoyment
Feeling on edge
Constantly stressed
Irritable
Indigestion

From discussion during the assessment we identified some tendencies and themes for Dave

Likes to always be in control
A perfectionist at work
All his hobbies are about achievement
Likes to research, plan and prepare
An overthinker
Feels lazy if he rests
Knows logically that he is doing well, but still doesn’t feel good enough
Never says no to customers, and always over-delivers
Never switches off from work, constantly checking his emails and messages

We discussed the impact of all this

His staff felt micro-managed
He worked excessive hours, didn’t take breaks, or annual leave
His profit margins weren’t great, and he was constantly exhausted
His wife was fed up of them not getting quality time together and him always being distracted
He felt like he had the life he was aiming for – business, home, wife – yet still wasn’t happy or enjoying life
He never had down time or sat still, and in social situations wasn’t really present

We jointly agreed the following target areas for treatment

To learn how to deal with worries and negative thoughts differently
To develop healthy and sustainable work boundaries
To learn how to let go of control
To reduce expectations of himself and his employees
To reduce self-criticism and improve self-belief
To get back on top of admin tasks, and ensure the jobs he took on fitted the availability of him and his team
To learn how to relax and improve sleep
To begin engaging in activities for fun and relaxation

Treatment

CBT Therapy strategies were used across the course of 12 treatment sessions at the cost of £1200.

Outcome

Dave found it really hard to slow down and step back at first
We worked together to help him identify his values and needs and he learnt to consider these more
His physical symptoms gradually went away, no longer experiencing indigestion, and he is now sleeping well
Dave was surprised to realise that he could get better profits, whilst working less hours
His work hours now include lunch breaks, weekends and evenings with no work, and 4 weeks minimum annual leave a year (He’s still working on giving himself permission for more)
He no longer pulls himself apart, but now believes in his value which in turn has allowed him to charge appropriately and know when it’s reasonable to say no to customers
He described actually enjoying work again as a result
He has learnt that worry, researching, planning and preparing are all part of his anxiety cycle and has made huge changes in these areas
He allows his staff to work more independently and no longer worried about how everything could go wrong
He is able to go on holiday regularly, switch off from work, and actually relax without believing he is being lazy/wasting time
Has caught up with admin, spends more time managing the business now he isn’t micro-managing staff, and things are running smoother as a result
His relationship with his wife is much better, and she is really happy he was no longer glued to his work phone and that they get to spend quality time together now. He’s also much more present when spending time with others
He described a sense of happiness and enjoyment in life that he hadn’t experienced in many years
His improved sense of feeling good enough is having a knock-on benefit to nearly every area of his life
He’s continuing to work on being proud of what he has achieved in business

* This is a fictionalised client that takes little elements from many clients I’ve worked with over many years to help demonstrate the type of clients I work with, and the type of help that therapy with me offers.