Depression Counseling
There is not only one way to find relief from depression. Every person comes to counseling as an individual with unique needs, temperaments, family background, and personal history. I will approach our work together with curiosity and openness as we partner to develop a plan that will address your specific concerns about the depressed mood you've been experiencing. Together, we can pinpoint what may be contributing to your depressed mood, process your feelings, problem-solve for symptom relief, and empower you to move through life with vitality, hope, and wellness.
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If you're feeling sad or depressed more days than not, experiencing loss of interest or pleasure in things that used to light you up, are having trouble sleeping, find it difficult to concentrate, and experiencing feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt - you may benefit from depression counseling. There is hope for you.
While everyone's healing journey is their own, below I have outlined several focuses of depression counseling I typically guide my clients through during the counseling process. Remember, healing is not a linear process. The purpose of the outline below is to highlight aspects of the counseling process we can work through together.
Focuses in Depression Counseling
Coping Skills
When we begin to work together to help you find relief from depression, I will help you build your personalized coping skills kit so that you will be better able reduce your symptoms and elevate your mood when presented with stressors.
Boundaries
After discovering root issues contributing to depression, it's helpful to identify when and how to implement boundaries. Part of this work is learning to tolerate the discomfort of others' reactions to your boundaries.
Feel Your Feelings
I will hold space for you to feel your feelings without fear of judgment. Learning to feel your feelings, rather than avoid or numb them, is one of the most important practices you will develop to foster your mental health.
Vulnerability
You will learn how to show up as your authentic self, take healthy risks, and let yourself be seen in your life. Your thoughts and actions will begin to reflect your sense of worthiness instead of shame.
Self-Awareness
We will identify the root issues contributing to depression. You will learn emotional literacy to help you talk about your feelings. You will learn to notice the messages your body and emotions are sending you to increase self-awareness.
Connection
You will learn to allow yourself to be deeply seen and known by the people who are most important in your life. You will learn to cultivate love, connection, and belonging with yourself, family and friends.
Depression Counseling
When partnering to relieve symptoms related to depression, my clients experience the healing that comes with a fully present witness to their feelings. When journeying together to alleviate depression, I hold space for my clients to feel whatever feelings they are experiencing. We work towards embracing the perspective that their feelings are truth-telling companions and invaluable resources to tap into as they navigate the peaks and valleys of life.
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We build upon emotional awareness and literacy to help my clients improve their relationship with themselves and others. We assess current social support systems, coping strategies, build a wider range of healthy relational skills, and develop a broader knowledge and implementation of healthy boundaries. This helps my clients to increase intimacy and connection with others. These focuses also help my clients foster a stronger sense of their personal needs and wants while learning how to advocate for themselves from a place of self-compassion.