As people return from their holidays, there is a rise in requests for psychological support

No career is long enough to allow you to avoid the ‘September slump’. Returning from holiday always seems to mark a turning point and a fresh start. Compared to the past, however, work-related anxiety and the so-called ‘post-holiday blues’ are resolved more quickly: one in five psychologists reports feeling disoriented after the holidays, but this is only a brief phase. 65.6 per cent say that a new balance is reached within a short time.

UnoBravo, a company offering online psychological services with a network of 9,500 professionals, reports that around 70 per cent of the psychologists it works with saw a significant increase in requests to start psychological treatment in September. At the same time, however, one in three professionals reports that new patients drop out after just a few sessions.

Although for many it is the issue that drains the most energy in September, work is not the main reason for seeking support upon returning from the summer holidays. Psychologists point to other priorities underlying these new programmes. First and foremost are emotional and personal relationships, cited by 31 per cent, followed by life transitions (24.4 per cent). Returning to work ranks only third (17.3 per cent).

Holidays are increasingly less likely to coincide with a break from psychological treatment. Over a third (35.5 per cent) of psychologists say that long-term patients – that is, those who have been undergoing psychological support for more than six months – specifically ask to continue their sessions even during the summer. More than one in two patients needs to maintain an established routine and continuity in the therapeutic alliance, which is seen as a ‘safe space’ to be protected even whilst on holiday. An increasing number of patients are ‘asking not to interrupt their sessions in the summer. For some, the session can become a point of reference even during a period which, whilst associated with rest, nevertheless involves changes to routine and less predictability’, explains Corena Pezzella, psychotherapist and Clinical Manager at Unobravo. For those already on a well-established course of treatment, the summer break does not deter them from continuing: around 92 per cent of psychologists report that interruptions to courses already underway affect only a small proportion of patients, and in at least one in four cases, the interruption represents a completely natural transition that coincides with the conclusion of the course of treatment.