Depression Counseling in Castro Valley, CA.

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 means feeling down or blue for at least two weeks and/or not finding pleasure in activities or relationships that typically make you happy. Nobody chooses to feel depressed, but those who suffer from it may blame themselves. The first step in recovering from depression is cultivating an attitude of patience and empathy towards oneself for feeling depressed. I offer therapy models this attitude and equips clients with the tools to help them cope. We also address the underlying beliefs that may be contributing to the depressive symptoms.

Symptoms of depression can leave one feeling lost and alone. Counseling can help you gain your bearings and find your way back to normalcy. Often our thoughts are a major contributor to these feelings of hopelessness and helplessness that accompany depression. Your thought patterns can provide a roadmap to understanding some of the causes that may have lead to these symptoms. Changing these negative thought patterns and learning new coping skills often lead to symptom relief. Sometimes post-traumatic-stress from traumatic events in childhood or adulthood cause you to feel stuck in a cycle of dispair. EMDR has proven effectve for desensitizing the trauma caused by these events.

Depression can grow on you. Once you experience it, you must find a way out of it or it becomes you. Depression can develop because of loss, trauma, chemical imbalance, or chronic pain and other reasons. Some people believe they have been depressed all their lives. I will help you figure out what is feeding it and how you can get out from under it. We will explore the best way to treat your depression. That includes an assessment, psychotherapy with or without medication or Lifespan Integration to help you out of your depression.

Are you depressed? Depression is the most commonly experienced emotional disorder. Depression is a combination of both physical and mental symptoms. Fatigue, lack of energy, poor sleep, under or over eating, lack of interest in those you love and lack of interest in sex are some of the physical symptoms of depression. Thinking negatively, ruminating over problems, being irritable and angry are some of the mental symptoms of depression. If you know or believe that you are depressed, seeking out professional help can be a true life saver. I'd like to offer you help and hope, with practical suggestions and guidance in a safe environment to resolve your depression and find joy in living.

Depression can be overwhelming and cause people to feel hopeless and helpless. Unfortunately depression may not subside without some kind of intervention. The good news is that once someone is able to develop the understanding of their depression and he/she can learn what coping skills work best for him/her, they will be able to use those in the future should the depression ever return.

I use Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat depression. At the heart of CBT is an assumption that a person's mood is directly related to his or her patterns of thought. Negative, dysfunctional thinking affects a person's mood, sense of self, behavior, and even physical state. I use a combination of techniques and interventions to address and assist my client to learn to recognize negative patterns of thought, evaluate their validity, and replace them with healthier ways of thinking. I aim to help clients change patterns of behavior that come from dysfunctional thinking.

Are you having trouble getting out of bed? Do you feel like nothing really matters? Do you not look forward to doing the things you use to enjoy? You might be struggling with depression. Counseling can help you get your motivation back and enjoy life again. You can start speaking to yourself positively, reconnect with your friends and loved ones, and give your life meaning again. Call me for an initial consultation.

Frequently, the things we want or need to change serve a purpose for us. They become a part of our identity and while they can cause us distress, their removal from our lives threatens us at a deep level. We are constantly creating an identity for ourselves and the very idea of change represents a threat to that identity. I can help you work through your depression by getting you to focus more concretely on the issues and symptoms you face in a safe and supportive environment. Together we will process some of the various things contributing to your depression, and creatively collaborate on how you can use your internal strengths to change.

Depression and Anxiety are the number one mental health issues in the United States. Most people who suffer from depression don't get help for it, instead they suffer alone. Rather medicating it away, therapy can help you understand the roots of the depression and/or anxiety and learn specific tools to find relief from it. You don't have to continue living with sadness.

Depression has many causes. Sadness or low energy are what most indicates someone is depressed. Often there are biological, psychological, social, and spiritual reasons when one is depressed. When looking at a brain scan, one can see indicators of depression. Depression is a biological problem. Yet it is not only our genes that influence our depression, but sleep, food, and exercise also affect us. Our thinking, feelings, and choices of action affect our depression as well. When we criticize ourselves excessively, we magnify our depression. Our depression may be a result of avoiding emotions that seem overwhelming. Depression is affected by my relationships. When depressed, one can isolate them self and then be deprived of the energy that comes from human interaction.

At My True Temperament Christian Counseling, LLC, our approach to relieving the symptoms of depression, such as fatigue, hopelessness, trouble concentrating, is to share with the client the healing power of the Holy Spirit and to administer a temperament report. We use cognitive behavioral therapy to help the client change his/her negative thought patterns.

Depression counseling involves assessing and making appropriate changes in the physical, emotional, and relational aspects of a client's life that are contributing to depressed mood. I work with clients to both remedy the underlying causes and their resulting cognitions, and the lifestyle habits that hinder their recovery. Often it is appropriate to work in conjunction with medical professionals who may suggest medications and/or nutritional supplements to correct the biochemical aspects of depressive episodes. Clients benefit most when their treatment is comprehensive and avoids dealing solely with symptom relief.

Depression manifests in many ways but the overriding symptoms in children are irritability, changes in sleeping and eating habits, low energy, not seeming to enjoy things that once were fun and isolating. Some have feelings of hopelessness. I work with my clients, to gain an understanding of what they feel. We work together to uncover the deeper reasons for the feelings, the thoughts and behavior. And then begin to learn ways to change the thoughts and feelings so they can once again feel more confident that things will work out for them.

Depression can make it even more difficult to come into therapy. Feelings of hopelessness and despair can lead to isolation which often only makes the depression worse. Even though it's difficult to come in and talk, therapy really can help to increase awareness and lift your feelings of depression which will help you to feel more engaged with your life. Take the first step to feeling better and we will collaborate to work through your depression and work towards generating awareness, emotional and psychological movement, and motivation in your life.

Depression can feel overwhelming, debilitating and just plain no fun. Sometimes there is a clear reason for depression such as a loss or a difficult transition. Sometimes the reason is unclear. Whatever your situation, my goal as your therapist will be to help you better understand the source of the pain and use concrete tools and skills to help you overcome it. Using a variety of methods, we can find ways to help you feel a renewed sense of purpose, confidence, and joy in your life. I offer EMDR therapy which is a highly-researched, effective form of therapy that often creates positive change in fewer sessions than talk therapy alone. Contact me for more details.

Depression can have many different sources: isolation, unresolved loss, unconscious anger turned against the self, feelings of shame, inadequacy and low self-esteem. It is sometimes experienced as a kind of deadness or emptiness, an absence of feeling. Therapy offers you the opportunity to get to the bottom of what is troubling you, to find your way to solutions. By talking through your issues and feelings you know what you need to do to change and you have support for taking the steps to make the change happen. Everyone needs to feel heard and understood, to feel empathy for their suffering, in order to do this. I offer this empathy, support and guidance to you.

I will help you get out from under your depression by understanding the contributing factors that keep it in place. You will develop more mindfulness and challenge negative patterns of thought and behavior. You will practice new ways of thinking, and being to offset the negative bias of depression. You will learn to cultivate acceptance and compassion for your suffering while challenging yourself to grow and change in the ways you can.

If you are feeling persistently sad, unmotivated and hopeless, I can help you to gain insight into why as well as giving you tools and strategies to improve your sense of well-being and zest for life. This can include identifying the unhelpful thoughts you have that cause you to feel low and affect your behavior and replacing those thoughts with ones that are more conducive to improving your life and well-being.

Research shows that the most effective treatment for depression is psychotherapy. Depression can range from feeling down to major symptoms such as having trouble even getting out of bed or contemplating suicide (if you have suicidal thoughts or plans, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255). Online counseling is effective for depression because it is easy to access: you can start treatment without even leaving the house.

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.

Depression is more than sadness, even deep sadness. It often includes 'weight' and 'drag,' where every effort is difficult and feels futile. At its worst, it can feel hopeless. Depression can be an extremely difficult challenge. I say this because if you are managing this condition, even if it's just by waking up or getting out of bed, you are already succeeding, and potentially on your way to improving the quality of your life. If you choose to take the even more difficult step of finding support, congratulations, I'd like to help. I can offer you hope, to hold it for you, if you are unable to hold it for yourself - and with that and our shared effort, find some relief.

Oftentimes, if you scratch the surface of depression, you will find loss, anger, despair, a lack of meaning or purpose, a profound sense of disappointment with others, with oneself, with the way that one's life has been lived. These are the issues that I really try to get to with my clients that come in suffering from depression. I often find that depression is connected to childhood experiences of emotional neglect or inattention. I help my clients articulate and grieve these early experiences and offer them an attuned and empathic relationship that helps them to feel seen and validated. This helps them to see and to value themselves, which opens them up to invest more fully in their life.

Our thoughts, behaviors and our emotions are all strongly connected. Change one of these three and the others have to shift as well. Cognitive-behavioral therapy relies on these connections to give you some control back over your depression. Studies have shown Cognitive-behavioral therapy to be a highly-effective treatment for depression, with or without medication. Different types of depression require different types of treatment. I work with each client to fully understand their unique experience of depression. We can work together to build on existing skills and find new ways to help you manage your mood.

I work with many clients who struggle with different kinds of depression. Sometimes it is related to a difficult life event or events. Sometimes it is biologically-based. Other times it may be both. While medication may be warranted in many cases, it is just one piece of the puzzle. My therapeutic style involves respectful probing of the source of the pain and sadness. Many people feel unable to move on from a particular event so I work hard to help my clients release themselves from their pain and agony. You deserve peace and happiness.