Online therapy for anxiety and depression
Support in English for UK clients experiencing persistent worry, low mood, emotional distress or difficulties in everyday life.
I’m Hatem Asadi, a clinical psychologist based in Israel. I work with adults and adolescents, drawing on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy to understand your difficulties and work towards change.
50-minute online sessions · Book in advance
What Are Anxiety and Depression, and What Are Their Characteristics?
Anxiety can involve persistent worry, fear and physical tension. Depression can involve lasting low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, and changes in energy, sleep or concentration. They can occur together or separately. Depression may follow difficult life events, but it can also develop without an obvious trigger.
Further information: NHS overview of depression in adults.
What Are the Symptoms of Anxiety?
Physical/Sensory (Somatic)
Includes symptoms related to physical arousal – a racing heartbeat, tightness and heaviness in the chest, shortness of breath, trembling, tingling in the extremities, a feeling of (or fear of) fainting, headaches and stomachaches.
Cognitive (Thought-Related)
The cognitive component of anxiety refers to the thinking patterns that accompany the experience of anxiety, and includes a variety of content such as automatic negative thoughts, threatening interpretations of neutral or ambiguous events, beliefs about being unable to cope with possible dangers, rigid beliefs about oneself and others, and chronic worries about the future. This component is characterized by a tendency to interpret information pessimistically or partially, filtering out the positive, overestimating probability and danger, and difficulty regulating the flow of disturbing thoughts. These patterns contribute to maintaining anxiety and even worsening it over time.
Behavioural
Includes behaviours of escape or avoidance of situations, places, people, or bodily sensations. “Safety behaviours” also often appear, intended to calm anxiety in the short term, but which may impair functioning and maintain anxiety in the long term. For example: repeated checking without need, or avoiding anxiety-provoking situations such as public speaking, or sitting close to the door to allow a quick exit when anxiety arises, thereby strengthening the belief that the bodily sensations involved in anxiety are dangerous through a loop of negative reinforcement. Escape and/or avoidance behaviour is accompanied by immediate relief, which increases the likelihood of using the same behaviour in similar situations in the future.
What Are the Symptoms of Depression?
Emotional and Psychological Symptoms
Depressive symptoms include, among others: a low mood most of the time, loss of interest and pleasure, fatigue, lack of motivation, changes in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
All of these lead to significant impairment in a person's functioning in various areas of life.
Impact on Daily Functioning and Interpersonal Relationships
This impairment may cause a person to miss opportunities, withdraw from people, and even damage family and social relationships, and create social rejection – which is sometimes secondary to the depression, meaning it did not precede it.
Loss of Pleasure and Avoidance of Activities
The loss of pleasure (anhedonia) that appears with depression may lead a person to give up on events, outings, and connections with people out of a belief that “nothing is enjoyable,” and even to miss opportunities to put this belief to the test and refute it.
The Cycle of Worsening Depression
Depression can be persistent and coping with it is not simple, because it creates withdrawal and a narrowing of a person's life, forming a vicious circle that reinforces itself and the depression even further.
Hatem's therapeutic work on anxiety and depression focuses on helping to identify and challenge worries and disturbing thoughts, thinking distortions and biases, and behaviours that maintain anxiety and depression over the long term. The work is based on treatment protocols supported by research in treating depression and anxiety (evidence-based practice), in an empathic and gradual atmosphere according to each person's pace.
When needed, exposure therapy techniques will be integrated, alongside guidance on how to cope with distressing physical symptoms (interoceptive cues) such as: a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, headaches and stomachaches, and feelings of faintness. When needed, techniques will be taught for coping with sleep difficulties and loss of pleasure in everyday life.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT):
Therapy focused on understanding the connection between thoughts and beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. It helps identify and change harmful patterns.
Psychodynamic Therapy
An approach focused on understanding the inner dynamics of relationships and past connections that affect how you function in the present, with the aim of reaching insight, freeing yourself from their grip, and achieving emotional well-being.
Statistical and Research Work
In addition to his clinical work, Hatem is passionate about research as a way to build knowledge and apply evidence-based clinical practice. He also works in statistical consulting and research methodology, providing statistical analyses and courses in statistics and research methods for quantitative studies.
More information on this topic can be found on the Statisticaia website.
Research and Clinical Publications
Hatem contributes to the field of psychology and mental health through publications on ADHD, emotional regulation, and risk-taking behaviour in peer-reviewed journals:
Tamsut, A., Asadi, H., Sinai, G. N., Saka, N., & Pollak, Y. (2024). Elementary School Teachers’ and Counselors’ Decisions on Referring Students for Evaluation: The Impact of ADHD Traits, Achievement, and Giftedness. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 1-16
Asadi, H., Shoham, R., & Pollak, Y. (2021). Intertwined associations among attachment styles, emotional dysregulation, and ADHD: Examining unique associations with general risk-taking behaviour. Journal of Neural Transmission, 128(7), 957-968
Asadi, H. (2023, November). Dealing with Adult Anxious Preoccupied Attachment Style. Psychology Today
Asadi, H. (2023, May). The Psychodynamics of Fearful Avoidant Attachment. Psychology Today
Previous Experience
Online sessions for UK clients
I am based in Israel and offer online therapy in English to clients physically located in the United Kingdom. In-person appointments are available in Israel.
Sessions last 50 minutes. Appointments are available by booking in advance.
When enquiring, please include your country and, for UK clients, whether you are in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We will confirm suitability and appointment arrangements before starting therapy. If you are elsewhere, please enquire about availability for your location.
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