Depression Counseling in Santa Cruz, CA.

Do you want to feel happy, productive, hopeful - feel like yourself again? Donald Dufford, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, can help you break out of depression. He has over 25 years experience and incorporates various treatment approaches when appropriate including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Psychotherapy, EMDR, Hypnotherapy, Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Dr. Dufford is also Director of Anxiety Treatment Services and has a strong specialty in overcoming anxiety disorders as well as depression. Please call now for a free 10 minute telephone consultation.

There are many causes for depression and many forms of depression, from reactive depressions to deep internal depressions. Sudden depressions as well as long lasting depressions are not to be ignored. They are serious emotional responses which can benefit extensively from appropriate counseling and therapeutic interventions. Having a caring and listening ear to talk to during a time of depressive despair can be extremely healing. It is often stated that a healthy listening relationship can heal beyond measure. There are depressions which will benefit from medical interventions along with talking interventions. In general, cared for depressions will greatly improve and most will pass.

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.

Depression can make it difficult to reach out, but in a safe and supportive space you can find ways to heal and to move out of the heavy and dark place into a richer life in which connecting with others becomes easy and enjoyable. Therapy can be the first step in connecting with another person to look at the various reasons that can cause depression and to find and practice resources that will lead out of the depression.

Community members living with or who experience depression benefit from our licensed psychologist and therapist utilization of psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral, behavior therapy, and somatic therapies (art, dance, and yoga). Our holistic approach provides a myriad of tools for our clients to benefit from therapy.

Depression may be hereditary, may be created by enormous stress over time, or from a recent stressor that results in an assault on one's serotonin levels. The results are symptoms of depression; poor sleep, appetite issues, bad moods or mood swings, low energy, poor focus/concentration and difficult functioning in every-day life. There are many ways to approach the problem of depression, and I usually recommend a multi-faceted approach to really solve the problem. I've helped hundreds of people with the issue in my career. People don't usually "snap out of it" and it is a serious issue. Professionals, like myself, know what to do to help you.