Depression

I offer compassionate and empathetic care. You will feel valued, respected and heard.

Depression has a way of seeping into everything we do and shaping our view of ourselves and distorting our perceptions. Coping skills and solution-focused therapy helps but often, depression finds it's way deeper, into our bones. I work with clients to develop ways of coping with their symptoms but also to address the underlying core beliefs that feed the depressive symptoms.

As a specialist in treating depression, I bring tailored approaches like CBT and mindfulness to address its complexities. Suffering from depression feels like a heavy fog obscuring joy and motivation. Working with me offers a compassionate ally, guiding you through strategies to navigate and overcome this fog, restoring hope and vitality.

At one time you felt emotions so painful, you couldn't tolerate them. So in order to function, you numbed them. Unfortunately, in the process of numbing your painful emotions, you also numbed the pleasurable ones. And now you're feeling lethargic, hopeless, and in despair. The good news is, you don't have to live this way. I use techniques that can help tap into your original pain,. and in the process, release all the joy and excitement you deserve to feel again.

Depression is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but when you look beneath that heavy blanket, it can take many shapes: anger and irritability, exhaustion and fatigue, agitation, sadness and hopelessness, burn-out, sleeping too much (or too little), eating too much (or too little), a feeling of disconnection from the world or always feeling overstimulated. The first task is to ask the question: What is it really? Then what is needed starts to emerge.

My approach to working with clients experiencing depressive symptoms focuses on goal setting, mindfulness practice, and incorporating positive psychology elements to increase motivation.

Does Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants speak to you? Eeyeore? Are you a "sad potato" who feels like you bring everyone else down? Depression is much more than just "being sad," and it takes more to recover from it than just "cheering up". If it were that easy, we wouldn't need therapists! I recognize how incredibly difficult it is to seek help when you're struggling with depression. If you're reading this, you've taken a powerful step toward feeling better. I can help.

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.

I have worked with depression for most of my psychology career. I take a compassionate approach to behavioral change and hope to hold clients to a standard of changing their behaviors to better match the life they want to live.

Feeling low? Dealing with a lack of motivation? Struggling to leave your bed or finding it hard to mingle with others? Are you withdrawing from social interactions? Does hope seem to be slipping away? These are common sentiments we encounter from our clients grappling with depression. My mission is to help you rediscover the spark within you, enabling you to relish life once more—both its simple pleasures and significant moments.

With depressive symptoms, a combination of self-care, lifestyle changes, and psychotherapy can be an effective treatment. For moderate to severe depression, medication along with psychotherapy can be effective. I can provide effective psychotherapy for depression including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. As a part of treatment, referrals to Psychiatrists can be given to assess whether medication is appropriate.

Depression is multi-faceted, and can benefit from both lifestyle adjustments and deeper work that brings to the surface feelings and experiences that we will integrate. We will integrate strengths and community.

Depression is difficult. From being unable to get out of bed to feeling overwhelmed by small tasks to snapping at those you love it's exhausting. I have been partnering with client's to take back their lives using a mix of Narrative Therapy and DBT for many years. I am looking forward to working with you to take back your life.

My clinical specializations include body image issues, depression, anxiety, relationship and family problems, perfectionism, low self-esteem, prenatal and postnatal issue anxiety disorders, guilt, shame, trauma, infidelity, adult children of alcoholics, and codependency.

Maybe you think there is not much point in trying to take better care of yourself. Maybe you have almost given up on the life you dream of. Maybe you have thought it would be better if you weren't here. These thoughts are common with people who are struggling in the desert of depression. Psychodynamic therapy can help you work on the emotional and behavioral obstacles that are keeping you from health. We will look at your story together and figure out how to improve it going forward.

I have worked with many individuals who have suffered from depression and have worked with these clients to help improve their symptoms. I have also taken courses and CEUs on the topic of depression and the most effective treatment modalities.

I have a steadfast interest in and commitment to helping individuals escape from under the silent weight of depression. People suffering with depression often suffer a double injury: not simply depression's debilitating symptoms, but then having those symptoms be dismissed by others as a "choice" or "bad attitude," used as examples of personal failure or character defects, or metastasizing into sources of shame. I often combine schema therapy with person-centered care to help depressed clients.

We all have ups and downs; for some those downs go lower and last longer. Depression tells us not to hope. It blinds us to the good in our life and it makes us feel like we’re moving in slow-motion. Depression is a slowing and stopping; it limits us and convinces us that trying isn’t worth it. If we can just unearth the tiniest speck of optimism, we can start engaging in our lives again and accumulate positive emotions and experiences to counteracts the depression.

By some counts, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. By practicing in many settings with many populations my professional experience encompasses a huge variety of depressions presentations and severities. I want to meet you wherever you are. Special interests of mine in this area are anhedonia, atypical depression, bipolar depression, and so-called "Treatment Resistant Depression". Everyone has a path to recovery, but some are less direct than others. Let's find yours.