Depression

Feeling sad, depressed & down in the dumps is no fun. MH Counseling can help you improve your mood, attitude & well-being. I’ll teach you an array of techniques to help you cope w/ depression, improve your mood, & outlook on life. The first step to happiness is learning to love yourself. “The strongest people are not the ones who show strength in front of us, but those who fight battles we know nothing about”. Let’s fight those battles together & conquer them!

A mix of talk and music therapy can be an effective treatment for depression as we unlock our bodies, our minds and voices. When depression lingers it often tells the person that it's "always been like this". It attacks memory. Our creative selves push back against that, reclaiming our stories and ultimately ourselves.

Dealing with addiction, depression, or anxiety is not about “what’s wrong with you?” but “what happened to you?” Alcohol abuse, drug addiction, and mental health issues are the outward projection of extensive emotional obstacles. These behaviors are ineffective solutions and adaptations to help manage what has happened in your life. They are merely symptoms of a more profound internal struggle, and you have the power to make the change.

Depression is the pressing down of thoughts and emotions as a defense against what we believe would be dreadful alternatives. However, depression’s symptoms are real, not “all in your mind” and may have physical symptoms (ex. muscle tensions, headaches, and other body pains). Yet, what you fear may not turn out to be as horrible as you expect. By working through what causes depression, you can eliminate the need for it and be depression and symptom free, though medication may sometimes help.

We all experience mood fluctuations that are a normal part of life. Depression is a persistence feeling of sadness, loss of interest, loneliness, hopelessness. It is also sleeping all day or not sleeping enough, poor appetite and isolating. It is waking up, putting your smile on and going to work while struggling with the darkness within. I use an eclectic approach to help clients find their healing and life their true authentic lives.

Through evidence based trainings, I can teach you how to reduce negative thoughts and process emotions, negative self beliefs from childhood, behaviors that reinforce depression, situations that trigger depression, and offer a new lens of perspective to build gratitude, appreciation, identify environmental factors associated with depression, and learn to forge new habits that will prevent future episodes of depression. Also, how to build meaning, purpose, and a growth perspective.

The darkness of depression can feel all encompassing. Depression can have many causes from suppression of emotions to unresolved trauma to biological makeup. I will walk with you through this journey to begin to return to your prior level of functioning and perhaps even further than that, to bring joy and pleasure back into your range of experiences.

Depression is the ultimate downer. If you've ever suffered from it, you know what I mean. Sometimes it's a bottomless pit, sometimes it's like having the ground ripped out from under you, and sometimes it's like being held underwater while you struggle to breathe. One of the most common factors in the development of depression is feelings of inadequacy. These can be rooted in our childhood or even come upon us in adulthood. Either way we must find a better way forward and I can help with that.

Depression is one of the most common reasons people see me for therapy. It is far more than just feeling sad. It is a real disorder that causes real difficulty in people's everyday lives. It's not something that can be fixed just by thinking positively or looking on the bright side. Depression is just as real as asthma, diabetes or any other physical health condition, and no one is exempt from it. I use scientifically-backed therapies that can help you to begin feeling like yourself again.

Whether you struggle with depressed mood, hopelessness, thoughts of suicide, or self-harm, I work with you to build effective skills for managing your emotions.

I have been working with clients suffering from depression since 2014, attending conferences, trainings, supervision, consultation, and readings along the way. While depression is surprisingly common, not everyone responds well to the same treatments. I generally used CBT, MBCT, IPT, psychodynamic, and supportive therapies, but depression varies widely among individuals and therefore so does treatment. I work collaboratively with my clients to find the best fit.

I can help you learn the skills you need to not feel exhausted all the time, have energy for things you love, stop feeling like a burden, & feel better about yourself & your life.

In therapy you can expect to identify factors that are contributing to your depression and learn how to effectively cope with them. We will also identify negative thought patterns that may be contributing to feelings of hopelessness and work to change them. You will also develop concrete skills to relieve suffering and prevent later bouts of depression. These skills may include new ways to cope with challenges and creating a personal plan that includes positive lifestyle changes. ​

When a camera is focused in on an object, all that will come into view is the object it is pointed at. It is the same with depression. The work is to zoom out of the focused pain and see there is more going on.

Depression affects 15-20% of individuals at some point in their lives and can significantly impair one's self worth and degree of life satisfaction. Our practitioners take into account how lifestyle, stressors, relationships, experiences, genetics, and medical history influence one's mood and use empirically validated interventions to treat symptoms and bring about lasting change.

As a human being, navigating my own personal journey with depression for the last 17 years, I feel it is important to be honest about it & how my experience with depression has shaped me. Depression has taught me a lot about who I am, about who I strive to be, about boundaries & self care, relationships & love & so much more. Depression isn't just about being sad. It is multifaceted. Depression is not, & will never be, one size fits all.