Depression Counseling in Monterey Park, CA.

Depression can envelop all aspects of a persons life, but with proper support and guidance it can be worked through. Although life can feel hopeless at times, there is a light at the end of the tunnel that can be found with professional help. Let me help you regain a love for the things you once enjoyed, and rebuild connections with people that improve your wellbeing. Overcoming depression is a process, and I can help.

Depression is a mood disorder that can cause a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest that can interfere with daily functioning. Reaching out for help is a step towards wellness. Symptoms of depression can vary from person to person, but it is a very treatable condition. Therapy for depression helps you overcome the feelings of hopelessness and despair and to gain control of your life.

When a loved one dies many people experience depression along with their other symptoms of grief. As a bereavement therapist I understand that grief takes a long time and that it is very difficult to learn to live without your loved one. Through grief counseling we can together help you regain your sense of balance and begin to lift the depressive feelings that can be overwhelming.

“Stinkin’ thinkin’” isn’t what causes depression. It’s just one manifistation of this bewildering, joy-sucking, often recurring illness. The good news is that depressive illness does not last forever, even though it can feel like it. The not-so-good news is that for many people, depression is a recurrent illness that hides in the shadows and may strike without cause or warning. MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) is an 8-week program that’s been scientifically-shown to prevent—or at least, decrease the likelihood of— recurrence in people who have suffered from 3 or more episodes of depression. It is a skill-based program that reduces the body’s vulnerability to depressive illness.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression has been shown to work time and again with decades of research supporting its efficacy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! When you are depressed motivation and desire are hard to come by. I hope to help you create and put into action a plan that does not rely on motivation to enact change. You will begin to learn how to catch the thoughts and behaviors that keep you stuck and change them to healthier alternatives. My goal is to help provide you with the tools and skills you need to find joy and pleasure in things again and to be able to envision your life worth living.

Depression is stigmatized, leaving sufferers feeling isolated. Lack of education regarding depression causes others to assume its under the person's control; when often there are biological factors blocking healing. Callous terms like "Snap out of it" leave the sufferer feeling all the more hopeless, because they can't snap out of it any more than a diabetic can snap out of diabetes without medical attention or treatment. Depression can be the result of a depletion of significant hormones in the brain. The Word of God is a powerful tool I use with clients to stifle the negative cognitions of depression. I refer clients for medical intervention when depression is not responding to therapy.

Are you living in a cloud, where everything seems foggy and dark? Depression can be a debilitating and hopeless experience. I understand that it can be incredibly difficult to reach out for help; remaining isolated is tempting for those struggling with depression -- whether it be from grief, trauma, loss, or "just because." I have experience working with depression and can help you not only develop more effective coping skills, but also identify the core reasons behind your depression in order to provide longer-term healing and change.

I like to work collaboratively with my clients with a special emphasis on going at their own pace. When feelings of hopelessness, sadness, or lack of motivation is a primary concern, it is important to help clients find goals that they feel they are actually able to achieve. Providing a supportive, non-judgmental and peaceful atmosphere in therapy can help a client explore some of the more challenging struggles that has made him or her feel stuck, either in their personal goals or in important close relationships. Finding new strategies or coping skills to replace the ones that have stopped working becomes the new goal and transformations in outlook and relationships can begin.

Among the most common events leading to depression are; experiencing changes in our daily functioning & feeling a loss of control in our lives, such as in our relationships, health, careers, family, divorce, death, history of abuse, finances, sex lives, or even moving. In dealing with depression, I utilize a holistic, strengths based approach. We will explore how these changes are impacting you physically, personally and socially. Together, we will draw on the positive aspects of your existing supports & routines that remain intact, reinforce or rebuild these, & work toward helping you maneuver through the depression you are experiencing.

Depression often results in a person believing that the only position to take is one of helplessness and hopelessness. Friends and family often cannot understand why their loved one cannot take action. However, to the person affected by depression, ruminating is the action they are taking which feels just as valid as any other type of action. Negative memories and negative interpretation of events dominante. It is difficult to accept the unknown and they under-estimate their ability to cope. Fatalistic beliefs, ambiguity and unfocused attention add to the overwhelming power of depression. In therapy, I help clients accept the unknown, focus attention, and transform the critical voice.

Working through depression is difficult. Finding what led to your depression can also be hard to recognize. Together we will find out why you're feeling sad and look for ways to overcome the depression with tools you'll learn in the therapy sessions. Through practice, you'll be able to use the newly learned tools to conquer your depression as easily as brushing your teeth.

Depression often results following some type of loss. However, often it is not the loss itself that causes the depression, but the person's assessment and thoughts about the loss that produces feelings of depression. Cognitive therapy, as practiced by Dr. Levine, can help reverse such clinical depression. It is normal to feel sadness following a loss or unexpected negative life event and cognitive therapy is frequently an excellent method for insuring that normal sadness does not morph into clinical depression. If medication might help in addition to therapy, Dr. Levine will help direct you to a competent psychopharmacologist to provide this additional assistance, if you choose.

There are two emotions which can be utilized in the process of healing from trauma: anger and sadness. Sadness can be a very effective vehicle for healing. The only problem with sadness is that it is such a short leap from there to depression. Sadness heals; depression does not. Depression can keep a person stuck in the same place for years without any progress. You must be very careful not to fall into depression when you decide to explore your feelings about the negative experiences of your life. Unfortunately, many people find the difference between sadness and depression to be obscure at best, and they often vacillate between the two. We encourage you to be very careful of depression becau....