Depression Counseling in Pinole, CA.

Anyone who has struggled with depression knows that relief can be hard to come by. I take a very pro-active and collaborative approach in working with clients facing depression. I help clients both work with and manage their depressive symptoms, as well as helping them access and work through the underlying causes of those symptoms. For example, I find that addressing the anger, grief or sadness that is oftentimes "underneath" the depression goes a tremendous way in beginning to shift the depression itself. When appropriate, I also work collaboratively with a client's physician to build treatment plans that include both medication and therapy, an often very effective combination.

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.

Clients usually experience a progressive decline in mood, which can impact their emotions, the quality of their sleep, relationships (they may even begin to withdraw from others), and have persistent negative thoughts. Many clients prefer to explore viable holistic and integrative strategies before trying medication. In our collaboration, we will design a plan to explore possible options, strategies to strengthen effective coping mechanisms, and identify a plan to enhance the opportunity for recovery.

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.

It can often seem like society expects us to be happy and positive at all times, that any admission of sadness or a loss of motivation, energy, or engagement with life is a personal failure. But Depression isn't a personal failure, and it is also more than just "feeling sad". If you find yourself down in the hole of disconnection, surrounded by a fog that is interfering with your life and relationships, you need a hand to help you climb out. A trained therapist understands the mechanics of depression and can help you understand it and find strategies to make your way up and out of it, and back into the light. Please contact me so we can begin to work on this process together.

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.

Be accepted for the way you feel. Allow yourself to grieve. Locate the problem(s) and brainstorm solutions in an environment of safety and encouragement. Learn drug-free ways to counteract negative thoughts. Find out how to notice opportunities to think positive thoughts. Learn to accept disappointment as a normal part of life and how to build the support system you deserve.

Our understanding of depression and its origins has deepened in recent years, especially with the much more nuanced knowledge we now have about the influences of both our early lives and neurobiology in shaping how we experience and respond to stress and adversity. If you are depresses, it is important to understand whether it is a response to situational, and possibly temporary circumstances, a biological tendency, a response to long-term trauma or a combination of triggers. If you wish to explore how I could help with your particular situation, please call me at 415-533-9724.

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 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.

Struggling to live life with overwhelming sadness and apathy is often miserable. Depression can take over and become all consuming - unless you get help. A safe place to talk can begin easing the emotional pain controlling your life. Through exploring issues and emotions we can begin to identify and work through possible underlying causes. We can then begin to identify strengths and resources to start the process of moving you forward and out of the depths of your darkness. You can attain a more satisfying and productive life - one in which getting out of bed is not the biggest challenge of your day. Make that life saving phone call today and I will walk through this with you.

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.

Depression can appear a number of ways to the outside world depending on your age, gender identity and the culture you were brought up in. Sometimes depression looks like repetitive outbursts of anger and other times depression appears as chronic pain in the body or substance abuse and being socially withdrawn. However, you experience your depression I want to understand how you experiences it's impact on your life. By learning more about your type of depression we can create a treatment plan that is right for you and that supports your healing process so you can find relief from suffering.