About
Human Update aims to provide comprehensive mental health training and resources for individuals and organisations.
We believe that when it comes to mental health, it’s important that the information that you get is well researched and delivered by someone that is experienced.
Founder, Roberta Byram, has over 20 years experience working within a mental health context. She is a qualified Psychotherapist with over 10 years experience. She holds a BA (hons) in Psychology and Health Promotion as well as a Postgraduate degree in Advanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
She is fully accredited by the British Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BABCP) and has worked as a therapist both privately and with the NHS to help countless people challenge their anxiety and depression and build better ways of living. She also holds a DTLL (Diploma to Teach in the Life Long Learning Sector) with extensive teaching experience.
As well as mental health specific experience, Roberta has had a proven track record in a diverse mix of other work environments, all of which evolved her strong understanding of people. From the age of 17-24 she was in the Army Reserves as a Corporal and Trainer grading top on her training course. She then worked in car sales (being the top seller within the UK) then worked for a large corporate organisation and soon became UK Manager and then headhunted becoming European Sales Manager, exceeding targets year on year.
When Roberta had 2 young children, she made the decision to go back to University and studied Psychology and Health Promotion alongside buying and developing property and via that venture also worked with John Gallagher’s Estate Agents.
Post degree multiple contacts sent her an opportunity at the Adult College, Lancaster, which she pursued and then served there as an “outstanding tutor.” All the time she worked tirelessly on building support for mental health in the community in diverse settings including Rehabilitation Centers, Sure Start and mental health institutions and supporting people with the skills they needed to go back to work . Roberta also has a qualification in mindfulness and taught Tai Chi on Morecambe Bay.
As you will see in the “Testimonials” section of this website, our Founder has, time and again, created positive and transformative change for individuals and organisations. You and your workforce can benefit from this unique combination of expertise with bespoke training sessions and accredited advice to best support your requirements.
“I feel if I do not pass on this experience to benefit as many people as possible it would be a disservice.”
Roberta Byram
Human Update Founder & High Intensity CBT Psychotherapist
Roberta, why did you set up Human Update?
“The truth is that ‘think positive’ ‘do a gratitude list’ is not getting to the root of problems, it is a sticking plaster placed over an ever-growing problem. We need to give people the knowledge of how the brain works so then they can look after their mental health like they would look after their physical health.
Anxiety and Depression is not something you have to live with, especially at primary level / workplace level. Anxiety is there to protect you in a dangerous situation. Depression is an experience of hopelessness, failure, bad feelings about self, feeling lost. This why we need to be a signpost, and direct people to fully qualified support.
I want to educate people so they can live to their potential and not be held back by what they think is a lifelong diagnosis, a lifelong state. Anxiety and depression are not a constant state. With understanding and evidence-based tools you can self soothe and maintain better mental health ongoing.
We all have mental health; it is a living thing. A continuum. If you process trauma you get to understand how that has formed your belief systems resulting in behavioral and life patterns.
People will say “why does this always happen to me” it is understanding consequences of unprocessed trauma and emotions, then building the life you deserve. It is realizing how important emotions are and that time is well invested in acknowledging, understanding, and working through them. We avoid them, we numb them with behaviors and habits.
Unresolved emotion impacts on mental health, physical health and the quality of both our personal and professional lives.
Gaining a better understanding of ourselves and how the brain works will help us to self soothe and self-regulate. Time and again I have seen people coming out of the other side of this process, transformed.”
Who is Human Update for?
“The service is for everyone, however, I feel the best way to reach groups of people, to make significant change, is to come to their workplace. We are seeing that more emphasis is being placed on employers helping to support the mental health of their workforce and nurture a more mindful culture. We know we can deliver this and more. Our training delivers effective and efficient solutions for individuals. For the employer it also brings savings of time and money with quick intervention preventing the need for or minimize work absence and the consequences that brings to the business.
When a person is struggling with anxiety and / or depression this not only restricts them personally, it can hinder their ability to function well at work. Anxiety activates the threat system so the body prepares to fight / flight / freeze. The brain gets hijacked, thoughts race, which makes it hard to think clearly and rationally. Performance can be affected as employees may start self checking their output multiple times, errors occur, they lack confidence in decision making and feel overwhelmed. Over time they become exhausted as this is not a sustainable or fulfilling existence and they enter feelings of depression. The pleasure of the role reduces, they do not want to interact, they find it difficult to concentrate and lose focus.
In the workplace, much time can be taken with colleagues / HR for reassurance. This all takes time and impacts on the individual, the team and the organisation. If unresolved this can lead to increased feelings of fear, worthlessness, lack of hope and thoughts that this is a lifelong way of being. Without relevant support this will lead to burnout. In some cases clients have tried to take their life, but with the relevant intervention, assessment, signposting and treatment they can come out of this experience with the tools to live a more fulfilled life.
This service is also for the proactive employer who can see that investing in the mental health of their team is also investing in the business. They can see the value in keeping the workplace mental healthy, acting with people-centered Integrity and in turn supporting the long term success of the organisation. A workforce with good mental health will be your biggest asset.
Taking back control of your mental health is liberating, empowering, and will positively effect the connections you have in all aspects of your life. If a workforce take this journey together it becomes a joint invested culture. That is true positive change, it is not an instruction, a slogan on a poster, true positive change comes with investing time and effort to create fundamental change from within, for all.
The qualifications I hold and thousands of hours of experience I have of delivering proven results in this field mean that you will receive accredited advice. And with workplace mental health hitting headlines and government agendas, the need to communicate this knowledge far and wide is becoming increasingly urgent.
I feel if I do not pass on this experience to benefit as many people as possible it would be a disservice.”
