Depression Counseling In Crofton, MD
Are You Stuck in a Pattern of Self-Judgment and Self-Sabotage?
- Do you lie awake at night reviewing your day and rehashing all of the things you messed up?
- Do you have a hard time remembering when you last enjoyed yourself?
- Do you feel isolated and alone?
- Do you sometimes feel like there’s no point to getting out of bed in the morning?
- Do you doubt that things will ever get better?
If these things sound familiar to you, it’s possible that you are experiencing some form of depression. Depression covers a broad spectrum, all the way from dysthymic disorder (also known as persistent depressive disorder, or PDD) to major depressive disorder. Sometimes depression has a seasonal pattern; this is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.
What Are The Symptoms Of Depression?
No matter how long depression lasts, what time of year it happens, or how severe it is, though, there are certain commonalities, including low mood, a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, and a feeling of hopelessness, among others. In some cases, depression may lead to thoughts of suicide.
One of the hardest things about depression is that it can make it difficult to do the things that can help you to feel less depressed, like spending time with others, exercising, or even calling a counselor who can help you. Depression can also trick you into feeling like you’ve always been depressed, and there’s no way out.
As hard as it may be to believe, though, things can get better with the help of a psychotherapist who specializes in the treatment of depression.
Many People Experience Depression At Some Point In Their Lives
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness every year, and 1 in 20 US adults experience serious mental illness. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)[1] affects about 15.5% of US adults in a given year. That’s a lot of people!
There’s a saying I like to share with clients: “Don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outside.” You never know what someone is experiencing if they don’t share it, and depression isn’t always easy to pick up on. In fact, there are a lot of high functioning people with depression who are masking their symptoms. Many people don’t like to talk about their depression, possibly because they think it will make them feel worse, possibly because they’re afraid they’ll drive people away if they spend too much time talking about how down they feel.
[1] https://www.nami.org/types-of-conditions/depression/
What Causes Depression?
There are many things that can contribute to depression, including genetics, childhood trauma, life events, substance use disorders, and some medical conditions. It doesn’t help that we are all constantly bombarded by discouraging news from around the world. (News outlets are much more likely to report negative events than positive ones!) If you doom-scroll, algorithms feed you more and more content similar to what you’ve been looking at. If that content is negative, it can take a toll on your mental health.
The good news, though, is that with the help of an experienced, compassionate, nonjudgmental therapist, you can beat your depression.
Counseling Can Help You To Change The Negative Thoughts That Contribute To Depression
One of the immediate benefits of therapy is that you have a chance to get out of the echo chamber of your head and interact with someone who will react to you positively. Even though you may initially assume your therapist is just pretending to care about you because you’re paying them to do it, it’s a chance for them to help you to begin to see yourself more accurately. (Spoiler alert: most therapists really do care about their clients.)
My Approach To Therapy
When you come for therapy with me, you’ll begin to pay attention to your negative thinking patterns and self-judgment. My clients learn to notice when they use certain unhelpful words like “should” or “stupid,” because I call their attention to those words when they use them in session.
While I, like most depression therapists, use some CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) in my work, my preferred therapeutic techniques (including IFS therapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, and sandtray therapy) go deeper than CBT does. Instead of just using a top-down approach to negative thinking, these approaches get at the root of the thoughts and feelings that are part of depression and eliminate them. One of the reasons I sought training in these other therapeutic modalities is that I got frustrated when client after client told me that, while they knew logically all of the positive things we talked about in session, they didn’t truly believe those things deep down.
My therapy office is a safe, compassionate, non-judgmental space. Finn, my unofficial therapy dog, adds to the warmth and sense of comfort. I offer strategies for addressing depressive symptoms and negative thinking, but I can also help you to deal with self-sabotage and the negative effects life has on your mood and ways of thinking.
Change Really Is Possible
One of the worst things about depression is the sense of hopelessness that comes with it. If you are depressed, you’ll probably come into my office with at least some doubt that things can get better. Clearly, though, if you’ve come to me, there’s at least some part of you that believes change might be possible. I will help you to strengthen that hopeful voice so you can do the work of transforming your life.
I have been working with clients who struggle with depression for my entire 21+ years as a therapist. I know first-hand what depression feels like because I have experienced it myself. I can attest to the fact that depression counseling really does work.
You May Still Have Questions About Depression Counseling
I have tried therapy in the past. It helped me feel better for a little while, but then I just went back to feeling the way I had before. Why should I believe that therapy with you will give me different results?
There’s a good chance that your previous therapy was talk therapy. If that was the case, it may have made you feel better in the short term, but the benefits were likely to have been limited. All of my preferred therapy modalities (EMDR, IFS, Brainspotting, and sandtray therapy) are more effective than talk therapy alone. Instead of just chatting about your week, we follow research-backed guidelines and have specific, measurable goals that we are working towards.
I’ve been depressed for a very long time. It just feels like it’s a part of me at this point. I’m not sure I’d know who I was without my depression.
Depression can do strange things to your memory. We, as a species, have what is called a negativity bias. This means that we’re more likely to notice and remember negative things than positive ones. This negativity bias is even stronger in depression, because depression is all about negativity! It’s very easy for depression to take over your self-identity, so it makes sense if you worry about who you’ll be if you’re not depressed. I’ve experienced that myself. Depression doesn’t disappear overnight; it will take time for you to get back to the non-depressed version of yourself. As our therapeutic work progresses, you’ll identify more and more as the non-depressed version of you. That gradual transition allows you time to adjust your thinking and your view of yourself.
I feel like I am broken beyond repair. I don’t feel like I’m worthy of feeling better.
One of my favorite therapy-related sayings is “don’t believe everything you think.” That voice telling you that you’re broken and that you’re unworthy can be very loud. That doesn’t mean that it’s telling you the truth. I can tell you that you’re not broken and that you’re worthy, but that’s not likely to convince you. That’s why I recommend my preferred “bottom up” approaches to depression counseling—they can help you to realize and believe these things deep down, not just on the surface.
Get Relief From Depression And Free Yourself From Negativity
Kevin O’Hearne, in his novel Hunted, said “Depression is a prison to which you have the key except you never think to look for it.” My multi-faceted approach to therapy can help you to find that key and use it. If you’d like to learn more about my approach, fill out the contact form or call or text me at 410-888-0590.