Depression Counseling in Pleasanton, CA.

Depression is usually caused from helplessness in the face of overwhelming situations. This can be a learned response from unresolved traumas in your past. My approach to depression is multifaceted, beginning with getting to know you and understanding your life and its hardships. Very quickly, I like to move into using Somatic Experiencing to help resolve past trauma and retrain your nevous system to be able to re-regulate itself in the face of what used to be overwhelming circumstances. I have seen a lot of people rise up out of the hell of depression, with and without medication, to live the lives they were meant to live.

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.

For clients experiencing depression, I help them explore both external and internal circumstances that are impacting their mental health and look for relationships in their lives that are impeding the healing process. Then we do relational work together to move out of a place of hopelessness and helplessness into a place of strength and empowerment.

Depression is a common mental health disorder, affecting all age groups, that causes intense & persistent feelings of hopelessness, sadness and personal emptiness. Depression affects how you feel, think, behave and could lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems, left untreated. If you are struggling with depression you don't have to be alone, seeking help is the first step to improving your symptoms. Psychotherapy has shown to improve the symptoms of depression. Together will develop a comprehensive treatment plan specific to your concerns, needs and symptoms to improve the quality of your life.

When you’re depressed it makes life feel like you’re walking through mud, everything is more difficult and tiring and you feel less motivated to do anything. This can make depression incredibly difficult to deal with because it requires taking action to overcome. I have personal and professional experience in recovery from this unpleasant disorder, which gives me an edge and helping people to heal from depression.

Working with the experience of depression is much more than changing our thoughts to change our behavior. Our brains are wired to notice the negative; it's part of our survival. I support my clients in expanding what they notice, and help them discover what works for them by creating a tool kit through experiential relational interventions in session. When I see children, I utilize play therapy as the modality, including Child Centered Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, and Prescriptive Play Therapy. When working with adolescents and adults, I utilize expressive arts, DBT, CBT and Narrative Therapy.