Depression Therapy

Depression is more than just feeling sad for a few days; it involves persistent symptoms that significantly interfere with your daily life, relationships, and work. Recognizing these signs is the crucial first step toward healing.

Common Signs and Types of Depression We Treat:

• Persistent Sadness or Low Mood: A feeling of emptiness or hopelessness that lasts for weeks or months.
• Loss of Interest (Anhedonia): No longer finding pleasure in activities you once enjoyed, including hobbies, sex, and social interactions.
• Changes in Appetite or Sleep: Significant weight loss or gain, or sleeping much more (hypersomnia) or much less (insomnia) than usual.
• Fatigue and Low Energy: Feeling exhausted even after resting, and lacking the energy to complete simple tasks.
• Irritability and Restlessness: Especially common in men and adolescents, depression can manifest as increased anger or agitation.
• Difficulty Concentrating: Trouble making decisions, remembering things, or maintaining focus.
• Feelings of Guilt or Worthlessness: Excessive self-blame or a persistent belief that you are a failure.

A Compassionate, Evidence-Based Strategy for Lasting Change

My approach to treating depression is centered on understanding you as a whole person, acknowledging the unique biological, psychological, and social factors contributing to your low mood. I believe effective therapy moves beyond symptom management to address the underlying causes of your emotional pain.

My Goal is to Help You:

• Identify Root Causes: Explore the relational patterns, trauma, or core beliefs that may have contributed to the onset or maintenance of your depression.
• Restore Energy and Motivation: Develop practical behavioral strategies to reactivate your life, leading to a return of pleasure and a sense of accomplishment.
• Challenge Negative Thinking: Learn to recognize and restructure the critical, hopeless thought patterns that fuel depressive episodes.
• Build Resilience: Equip you with sustainable coping mechanisms and a strong emotional toolkit to prevent future depressive episodes.

Depression is highly responsive to psychotherapy. We draw from a range of empirically supported treatments to create a customized therapeutic plan that is effective for you.

Effective Treatments We Utilize for Depression:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This foundational therapy helps identify the interconnected cycle of negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that perpetuate depression, teaching you to modify these patterns for improved mood.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps individuals stop the internal struggle with painful feelings. We focus on clarifying your deeply held values and committing to actions that enrich your life, regardless of the presence of difficult emotions.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills: We integrate skills for Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance to help you manage intense feelings and stabilize your emotional responses daily.
• Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): For individuals whose depression is closely linked to relationship conflicts, social isolation, or significant life transitions (like grief or job loss), IPT focuses on improving interpersonal functioning to alleviate depressive symptoms.

Learn more about Depression and Mood Disorders at the Child Mind Institute.