Depression Counseling in Belmont, CA.

I offer a holistic and client-centered experience designed to address the multifaceted nature of depression. I create a supportive and empathetic environment where clients feel safe to explore their feelings and experiences without judgment. By employing evidence-based therapies, such as Ketamine Therapy (KAP), IFS, and mindfulness practices, I work with clients to identify negative thought patterns, develop coping strategies, and build resilience. Additionally, I tailor interventions to each individual’s unique needs, incorporating their personal strengths and goals into the therapeutic process. This comprehensive approach empowers client to achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life.

For clients experiencing depression, I help them explore both external and internal circumstances that are impacting their mental health and look for relationships in their lives that are impeding the healing process. Then we do relational work together to move out of a place of hopelessness and helplessness into a place of strength and empowerment.

Depression can set in when our emotions or negative thought patterns become overwhelming and too much to hold. Pain or hardship often is too much to hold alone. With my help, we can start to open to emotion, bring a wise awareness to thought patterns, and to find aliveness again. If we can make friends with our emotions, stop fighting them, and to recognize their purpose in regulating the nervous system or showing us what matters to us, tremendous resilience can be found on the other side.

Depression (and anxiety) are normal responses to painful environments. Are finding it difficult to be motivated? Are you lower energy than you should be? Is it hard to get out of bed? Do you get irritable for no reason at times? If so, you may be suffering from depression. I attack depression from two angles. One strategy is using CBT strategies to help you manage some of your symptoms. I also use EMDR, attachment based psychotherapy, and body / nervous system informed strategies to help you transform some of the underlying brain mis-wiring that is there from your past. Don't find somebody that just stares at you and lets you continue to be depressed. Let's do something about this!

I work with hardworking professionals in managing depression while upholding their commitment to excellence in both their careers and personal lives. In collaboration with my clients, we explore their motivations and cultivate hope. Together, we devise solutions to handle depression while reshaping their self-critical inner dialogue into a supportive one. I equip clients with practical tools to diminish self-criticism and depression, fostering a more composed and focused life. If you're seeking to silence that self-critical voice and find relief from depression, I'm here to help you on that journey. I offer free 15-minute consultations. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Has anyone ever implied you should just "snap out of" depression? Oh, boy, do they not understand! If depression is keeping you from living the life you want, I can help. I understand that depression is a complex emotional, physical, and psychological disease. Often historical, genetic and environmental factors contribute to depression. Together we can sort out those complex factors and address them one by one. Depression is not your fault, nor is it a moral failing. You can feel better. You can feel alive again. Studies show that even contacting a therapist can give you hope. Give it a try. I'm waiting to hear from you.

Depression can manifest itself in different ways. It's most well-known manifestation is tearfulness, isolation, low self-esteem, hopelessness, and negative self-talk. Depression can also show up as irritability, patterns of avoidance, aggression, and anxiety. Because of 1) the more popular face of depression and 2) the stigma attached to it, people encounter difficulty in reaching out for and receiving help. It can be a really frustrating, hopeless place to feel stuck. I will help you to come to a place of understanding your depression and give you tools to understand and manage the symptoms.

When you’re depressed it makes life feel like you’re walking through mud, everything is more difficult and tiring and you feel less motivated to do anything. This can make depression incredibly difficult to deal with because it requires taking action to overcome. I have personal and professional experience in recovery from this unpleasant disorder, which gives me an edge and helping people to heal from depression.

I help clients explore the root causes of their depression, which can often be complex and multifaceted. By uncovering underlying issues, clients can gain a deeper understanding of their emotions and behaviors. Clients learn strategies to manage and regulate intense emotions associated with depression. These skills empower clients to navigate emotional challenges more effectively. I offer tools to cope with stress and life challenges, reducing the impact of stressors on depressive symptoms. I use CBT, acceptance & commitment therapy to help break negative patterns for my clients who are dealing with depression. When depression is tied to past trauma, I also use EMDR.

I believe depression is caused when we shut down our emotional expression. As in if we shut down one part of ourselves, such as our anger, or our desire, or our fear, or any other one part, we can't just shut down the one channel and we end up shutting them all down, leading to depression. The solution is to create the safety and trust needed for the person to finally be able to express and feel what they have been blocking and thus move past the depression into more aliveness.

Grey Matters International, Inc. and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, Ph.D. handles depression and other emotional disorders in a very unique way. Most of therapy or counseling processes utilize validation, unconditional positive regard, and reframing as common techniques to get someone to heal from their depression. Though this can be helpful, it rarely fixes the core problem behind it and for tough cases we then refer them usually to a psychiatrist for medication which can have tons of side effects. Instead, why not try a natural and arguably more effective way to not just change your mind, but change the brain--where the depression is rooted. Contact us at kevin@kevinflemingphd.com.

I work with a depressed nervous system by working with the body. Often we struggle to sleep, eat, or accomplish relatively simple tasks. Our bodies are stuck with the brake on. When our body thinks it is futile, out mind follows quickly thereafter and we begin to tell ourselves how pointless things are and how worthless we are. I work with the whole body to re-regulate the body to enable you to get back to a whole integrated self.

Working with the experience of depression is much more than changing our thoughts to change our behavior. Our brains are wired to notice the negative; it's part of our survival. I support my clients in expanding what they notice, and help them discover what works for them by creating a tool kit through experiential relational interventions in session. When I see children, I utilize play therapy as the modality, including Child Centered Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, and Prescriptive Play Therapy. When working with adolescents and adults, I utilize expressive arts, DBT, CBT and Narrative Therapy.