Counseling Specialty Areas: Depression

Depression is a broad term that covers several mood disorders. Depression can be classified as major or mild, and can even be brought on by the change in seasons. It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that you can “think your way out” of depression, or that you can ignore it or dismiss it as “the blues”. The truth is that depression is common and treatable, and therapy greatly aids in the healing process.

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Everyone has a bad day. Even a bad week. But what happens when that bad week turns into a month and the month turns into a year? Depression can result in months of feeling like the most routine activities are too much to bear. It can hit hard and stay with you for several months. Chronic low-grade depression is often the easiest to dismiss. It comes and goes for days at a time, but can greatly impact your ability to maintain relationships, perform at your job, and can inhibit your social life. It can make you feel walled off from everyone and everything, despite your attempts to break through.

 

Depression can manifest in many ways. Women that suffer from depression tend to experience feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, weight gain, sleeping a lot, or not sleeping enough. Men who are depressed tend to experience depression as anger, irritability, difficult sleeping, fatigue and loss of interest in hobbies and fun activities. While these are general observations, these symptoms are not an exhaustive list, nor is any given symptom gender-specific.

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Recognizing and acknowledging to yourself that you may be depressed is the first step you can take. You might sense or feel the impact that your depression is having on your friends, family and coworkers and you are not sure how to get back on track. If you feel stuck and unable to move forward, then it is time to get help. The goal of counseling is to feel excited and optimistic about life again.

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My approach to combat depression involves helping clients establish a framework to help with what is getting in the way of their ability to experience happiness. This includes a mix of therapy, establishing connections within your own community, and defining an individually-tailored self-care regimen, which could include journaling and/or meditation.

 

With regard to therapy, I utilize two main methods:

 

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This method helps identify and change negative thoughts and behavior that maintain depression. It promotes use of positive coping and is solution oriented.

• Interpersonal Therapy: This method examines interpersonal issues causing depression. These issues could include conflict, differing communication styles, excessive dependence on others, anger at others or a change in role at work, home and socially. Interpersonal Psychotherapy can help you adapt to a wide range of circumstances

 

There is a way out of depression. It involves acknowledgement of oneself and a willingness to change and grow. Book an appointment today to get started.