Depression Therapy

Are You Searching For Immediate Relief From Depression?

Is a persistent feeling of sadness or emptiness slowly infiltrating every aspect of your life? Do you commonly experience:

apathy, low energy levels, or lack of motivation?
confusion, overthinking, or trouble concentrating?
mood swings, excessive crying, or angry outbursts?

Perhaps you’ve lost interest in the things you once did, and you’re looking for a way to rediscover your old self. Or maybe you’ve talked to friends and family about the way you feel, but you’re realizing they don’t have the expertise that a depression therapist does.

Anxiety Can Create Pain And Frustration In Different Ways

In addition to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, depression can also manifest both physically and behaviorally. For instance, you may have trouble concentrating and functioning at work because your mind is caught in a loop of negative thoughts and emotions. You might be experiencing changes in appetite, symptoms of anxiety, or weight loss/weight gain.

Depression can also work its way into relationships, causing stress, guilt, and shame. As a result, you may feel like withdrawing to where your pain and frustration can’t impact anyone else. Some days, you may feel so hurt and lonely that you wonder, “Why even bother?”

At Windows of Hope Counseling Center, our therapists understand just how powerful depression can be, and we want you to know that it is possible to feel relief. Whether you’re looking for immediate symptom relief, support for healing an old wound, or just someone to talk to, therapy can help you reclaim your life from depression.

Depression Is An Unfortunate Yet Inevitable Part Of Life

Many people will experience depression symptoms at least once in their lifetime. And you don’t have to be diagnosed with major depression or a clinical depressive disorder to benefit from therapy.

Life is filled with experiences that can cause pain and sadness—even if those experiences are temporary. Losing a loved one, watching kids leave home for the first time, or experiencing a traumatic event can all result in symptoms of depression.

Unfortunately, our current healthcare system (and society in general) fails to adequately support those who suffer with mental wellness challenges. Cost is almost always an obstacle to getting help. People either don’t know where to go or they avoid depression therapy because of fear and misconceptions about their options.

Two of the biggest symptoms of depression are hopelessness and loneliness—and combined, they create a powerful force that makes change seem ever-elusive. The antithesis and remedy to that negative feedback loop is connection, which is why therapy can be so helpful.

Working with a depression counselor gives you a sense of connection and emotional support with someone you know is safe and always on your side. Healing from depression begins in connection with another person you feel safe with!

Therapy For Depression Can Help You Maximize Your Life’s Experience

Depression is often facilitated and influenced by environmental factors. For instance, stressors at work, home, school, and in relationships can all affect your mental well-being over time.

It can be incredibly healing to have a safe person to talk with—someone to share your thoughts and feelings with about some of your most difficult feelings and experiences. Working with a therapist can give you an ally and can help you process difficult thoughts, feelings, and memories while finding healthier ways of coping with the symptoms of depression.

Discussing painful emotions and experiences can bring up difficult feelings. We can provide you with tools and compassionate guidance for managing your feelings and help you prevent becoming overwhelmed.

What Is Depression Treatment Like?

At Windows of Hope Counseling Center, we take a multi-pronged approach to therapy, recognizing that each person’s experience with depression is different. Sometimes, sessions will focus on getting to the core issues that drive symptoms. Other times, the healing process will be more cognitive-based in that we’ll help you understand your unique symptoms and “the why” behind the depression experience.

We’ll also help you create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relatable, and Timed) goals for improving your productivity in the future. Because hormones, thyroid issues, and vitamin deficiencies are sometimes at the heart of depression, we can refer you to a medical doctor who can offer a blood test to see if there may be a biological component at work as well.

We’ll even educate you about how certain substances or coping behaviors may be doing more harm than good. If it turns out that you want to try medication for depression, we can explore all the treatment options available—but remember: medication is a choice. There are natural ways to manage depression as well. Our job is to figure out what works best for you.

What Kind Of Tools Do We Use In Counseling For Depression?

Every person is different and experiences depression in a unique way—and just as symptoms vary, so do the root causes. As depression counselors, we understand that you are your own expert. We want to collaborate and help customize a treatment plan designed to work specifically for you. To do that, our therapists are encouraged to draw from a number of therapeutic methods:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT for depression) creates change by making shifts in how you think, feel, act, and see yourself.
Internal Family Systems (IFS for depression) brings balance to the wounded, protective, and reactive/defensive parts of the self that are at odds with each other.
Psychodynamic Therapy for Depression explores how the past informs a person’s well-being in the present.
Humanistic Therapy for Depression is a holistic, client-centered approach to treatment that takes into account all the unique elements of a person’s make-up.

We can even integrate aspects of your spirituality or belief system into depression counseling. Our goal is to work with you to create the most effective treatment plan and the best SMART goals for depression possible.

Counseling for depression is mainly about having someone who will support you and deeply listen to what you would like to share. It’s about having someone to connect with who can help you understand what’s going on beneath the surface of things. It’s within that space of connection and trust that you can finally heal your pain, overcome depression, and maximize your life’s experience.

Still Have Questions Or Concerns About Depression Therapy?

I am afraid to talk about my symptoms—is it required?

Sometimes, when people discuss symptoms and past experiences with a therapist, secondary anxiety symptoms (attached to past depressive episodes) pop up. And that’s completely normal. However, a skilled therapist can equip you with tools and strategies for discussing experiences and symptoms safely. That being said, you’re the one who ultimately decides what we explore.

Will counseling for depression worsen my symptoms?

For some people, it can feel like therapy aggravates symptoms at first, especially when it involves trauma. But just as a physical wound might hurt momentarily while it’s being dressed, the discomfort of exploring symptoms and experiences actually facilitates the healing process. Our job as depression counselors is to safely guide you through painful experiences at a pace that doesn’t make matters worse.

I think something deeper than depression is going on.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common secondary diagnosis when clients have a depressive episode. Despite its obvious intentions, depression therapy is versatile enough that skilled therapists like ours can make sense of and guide you through those symptoms as well. Then, you’ll learn to apply the tools learned in session to better manage that secondary condition and reduce everyday stressors.

Loneliness And Helplessness Do Not Have To Define Your Life

Our therapists at Windows Of Hope Counseling Center want you to know that we are here and available to help you heal and manage depression no matter the cause—and we have dedicated our lives to doing just that.

So, when you’re ready, please call (310) 948-9929 or use our Contact Page to set up your first online or in-person depression treatment session and see how you can maximize your life experience.

We serve Palm Desert, Long Beach, CA, and its Surrounding Areas.