Depression Counseling in Northridge, CA.

Are you sad or lonely? Does stress from work or family get you "down." Maybe you feel like there is "no hope" or no one understands you. I help people feel better by helping them develop new strategies and skills to reduce their stress. Having a professional counselor to talk to can be helpful. People who work with me report that they feel better. If you want to feel better, please call me for an appointment.

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.

Depression is one of the most common problems people seek out therapy services. Because I am trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches, I am able to offer you a holistic approach to depression treatment. Sometimes depression is habitual, other times it is caused by your cicumstances, and still other times we need to work through the root causes of depression. These may be childhood abuse, traumatic events, bereavement or problems in your relationships or lack there of! I am highly trained and skilled at treating all types of depressions and can help you work through the feelings to resolve even long term depression. Call me! I can help!

Most of us get depressed at times in our lives. Sometimes, we need some guidance to help us through these difficult periods. I believe that the client/therapist relationship is very important in dealing with depression. If you make the decision to seek psychotherapy to help you deal with your depression, I think it is necessary to find a therapist that you can relate to. I work very hard to establish that bond and then explore your history and reasons why the depression exists. Using various techniques, my goal is to help you gain insight into your issues, learn better coping skills and ways of thinking and then help you move forward in your life to attain your goals.

We have learned much in the past decade or so about the neurobiology of emotions and their relationship to our body, genetics, and past experiences. Although there may be medical causes of depression that may be medically treatable, research has shown that a combination of psychotherapy and medication is the best treatment. In therapy, we will explore your experiences that may be contributing to depression. We will identify ways to improve self-care (i.e., sleep, diet, exercise), and the ways in which thoughts and emotional responses to stress contribute to depression along with options for improving managing symptoms and coping with emotions.

My approach to working with depression utilizes a combination of depth psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and existential therapy. Depression is the soul speaking of its pain and isolation through the body. My clients benefit immensely from learning to listen to the unconscious through dream analysis and the use of active imagination. CBT provides a tool for clients to identify negative thoughts and replace them with life affirming thoughts. Through existential work my clients learn to take responsibility for and take charge of their depression. For those clients who are taking anti-depressant medication I work closely with their psychiatrists to maximize outcomes.

When treating depression, I employ cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) therapy which is empirically validated in research studies to help people with depression. By modifying routines and behavior and learning how to challenge dysfunctional thoughts, clients are helped to improve mood in a relatively short time. This approach is collaborative, active, and supportive. Clients are usually asked to keep records, complete worksheets, test new behaviors, run experiments, and report back on the outcome.

I have witnessed countless clients struggle from the weight of depression. I have also seen how quickly therapy can work to dismantle depression. Therapy, under my guidance, is extremely effective in diminishing many of the symptoms of depression. The benefits of therapy for treating depression are tremendous and multifarious. You do not need to live a life of sadness and depression.

Depression has a way of taking away our zest for life, our sense of vitality, and even sometimes our will to live. I begin my work in depression treatment with a thorough assessment of not just the number of symptoms of depression but as importantly the quality of the depression. Depression that stems from guilt has a different feel than that which stems from shame. I observe and interact with my clients and I provide my observations back to them for their assessment and collaboration in this very engaged and intimate process of identification. I make note of how my client is feeling during these conversations and I make my observations and senses my guides in treating depressive feelings.

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.

Sadness vs. Depression? Which is it? Treatable YES! Everyone feels sad or 'blue' on occassion. People tend to grieve over a loss, but usually, the feelings of grief tend to lessen over time. Depression occurs when feelings of extreme sadness or despair last for at least 2 weeks or longer and tend to interfere with activities of everyday living. Deperessed feelings include helplessness, hopelessness and even thoughts of death and possibly suicide. People with these feelings may feel overwhelmed. Causes may be from body chemistry which influence mood and thought. Chronic illness can accompany depression. Start feeling better. Give me a call and make an appointment now. Dr. Sobo

Depression, fear and anxiety are some of the most common and uncomfortable emotions that we can experience at some point in our lives. Therapy can help you to talk things out, cope with feelings, problem solve and change behavior patterns that may contribute to your symptoms. Through our work together in therapy, I am able to help you recover motivation, perspective, and joy that you once had so that you can live your best life.

In treating mood problems, the most important piece in collaborating is to find rays of hope in your life. What did you love to do before that you no longer enjoy? What are/were your interests in life? Who are the people in your life you want to feel closer to? What are your strengths? How can we interupt habitual feelings of hopelessnes, by changing the way you think about triggers that lead you to depressed feelings? How can we challenge negative or unrealistic thinking? With sensitive, open communication in sessins, we can find answers to these questions that can curtail habitual depressive thought and feelings. Coping skills can be taught and mastered.