Therapy for Depression

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Depression can be debilitating. Symptoms of depression can include emotional and physical symptoms.  If you are having excessive sadness and trouble finding motivation, you may be depressed. Symptoms of depression include (NIMH, 2023):

Hopelessness

Loss of Interest in things you once enjoyed

Crying

Increased or decreased sleep

Increased or decreased appetite

Trouble falling asleep

Suicidal thoughts

Physical pain

Fatigue

Increased use of alcohol and/or drugs

Isolation

There are also several different types of depression. For some people, during or after pregnancy increases depression symptoms. Other people may have dealt with depression for years. Whatever the cause, depression reduces life quality and can lead to further health problems.

So what can you do to get better? Depression is not cured by simply trying to be happy, or getting a hobby, depression has many factors. Therapy is a good place to start to treat depression. 

How can therapy help my depression?

Therapy would first focus on reducing your symptoms. This may mean a referral to a psychiatrist to see if medication interventions are beneficial. In therapy, you and the therapist would meet and develop a plan of what goals you want to work towards. Your goals may look something like, instead of being in bed 5-7 times a week, most of the day, my goal is to work towards getting out of bed at least 2 times a week and going for a walk. These small goals will help you achieve bigger goals as therapy progresses.

Therapy is beneficial because some people are depressed due to difficult things that they have been through. Therapy can help you process these events and gain a different perspective and outlook on them. We cannot change what happened to you, but we can try to make sense of it and find meaning.

Therapy is a good place to process negative thoughts and regain hope. As people, especially if depression is present, we have a tendency to be very harsh towards ourselves. Depression therapy can help increase your self-esteem as you work through negative thoughts and confront those thoughts with evidence of the contrary. The therapists at S & J Wellness in the Warrenville office and our online therapists use a variety of interventions when treating depression. These modalities include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Processing

Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Psychodynamic 

Narrative Therapy, just to name a few.

Our therapists have training and education to treat depression. You can be seen in our Warrenville office or by video for online therapy if your symptoms make it difficult for you to leave home or make it to appointments. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or request a free consultation.

Source:  NIMH » Depression (nih.gov)