Depression Counseling in Pinole, CA.

Ugghh! The crushing, heavy feeling of depression can make it difficult to get up in the morning, to find connection to others and to the world, to move forward at all. Worse, symptoms of depression can, in themselves, make us feel more depressed still, creating a downward spiral into an an abyss of emptiness. It's so hard to motivate one's self to do anything about depression because of the weight of it all. It can feel immobilizing. You don't have to keep feeling that stuck, awful feeling. I can help! Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been shown to be as effective as medication for treating depression and getting you back to the life you want to live.

Depression can be experienced in a number of different ways. It can feel like an overwhelming sense of sadness or grief, which can make it difficult to get out of bed and carry on your daily functions. It can also emerge as irritability or even boredom. Depression can cloud your judgment and can make being in relationships challenging. Depression can also be confusing, particularly if you don't know what caused it. In psychotherapy, I can support you in discovering insights that can help you find relief. I can support you in finding ways to better cope with your feelings and process whatever old internal wounds may be lingering, which has led to your depression.

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 robs us, not only of our happiness and sense of well-being, but also of the hope that things will get better. Depression makes us feel we are worthless, so it is hard to reach out for the help we need. I help clients defeat depression through reestablishing hope and improving self-esteem and self-care. I have worked with clients suffering from chronic, lifelong depression as well as those experiencing their first depressive episode. Overcoming depression restores resilience and can teach lifelong lessons in self-care and the path to emotional health. I have been there myself, so I know that there is hope. You will overcome depression and feel like yourself again.

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.

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.

Depression is usually very treatable. As an Oakland depression therapist, I help people with depression work through their pain and take steps to feel better again. I use traditional talk therapy techniques as well as empirically proven therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness based therapy, and EMDR. Exciting new research is proving the effectiveness of combining meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, for depression, and I am excited to offer this therapy to my clients. As a somatic therapist, I am also able to help you work with your body to change the physical symptoms of depression. I help adults & children heal and recover from depressive disorders.

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.

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.

I want to help you feel better, in a way that is deep rooted and lasting. When suffering from depression, it's difficult to believe that your outlook or life will ever improve. While the hopelessness you may feel is all too real, the bleakness of the future it points to is not. Whether your depression is long-standing or traceable to some recent situation, I believe a different reality is possible. I could not do this work if I didn't trust this to be true, or see evidence of it with others I've helped. My focus will be to help you find your own lost source of vision and contentment. Regarding medication, it's one option of many and not warranted in every case, but best discussed together.

If you're stuck, it can feel like your own mind is against you, pulling you down into a swamp. It usually has to do with imagining that you are helpless - and while it might seem that you ARE helpless, it's really important to get in to talk to a therapist to get past that idea, and get moving forward again. Let's break it down into manageable pieces and get you activated and engaged in life.

Depression is a serious issue. I know it is difficult to seek help when you are depressed and you probably feel hopeless that there is any help at all. It is the nature of the illness that keeps you from getting the help you deserve. Psychotherapy can help! Depression is treatable and you can live a happier and more productive life. I provide a safe place to help you understand and deal with the depression and together we will create a plan to help you feel better.

Jonathan is highly skilled at cognitive-behavioral work with depression and at shifting personal relationships that contribute to depression. At the same time, Barbara excels at empathetically guiding clients out of depression. She grew up with a depressed mother and has become an expert at reaching pain and fear that many clients are otherwise unable to access. She also has exceptional intuitive powers for understanding the source of a depression.