Depression Counseling in Deer Park, IL.

In my approach to depression counseling, I provide a compassionate and supportive environment where clients feel truly heard and understood. I tailor my methods to the individual, blending evidence-based therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based practices to help clients manage symptoms and regain hope. Through collaborative goal-setting and gentle exploration of thought patterns, I empower clients to build resilience, develop practical coping strategies, and rediscover a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their lives.

Depression can be debilitating. Dealing with loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, hopelessness, feeling worthless, low mood, and overall difficulty dealing with the day to day can be a symptom of depression. Through counseling I can help provide you relief from depression. I will help you identify ways your thinking is impacting your mood and offer your tools to help correct your thinking. I will also teach you new ideas/concepts that will help you make changes to your thinking and mood.

Isolation feeds depression and then also becomes a breeding ground for negative thought patterns. In session, we challenge those thought processes and take baby steps towards leaving isolation, hopelessness, and helplessness. As your therapist, we do not want you to be alone; we will work to develop skills and techniques that benefit you and that challenge the fog that you may feel that you are stuck in. These skills and techniques are practiced in session and often suggested that it be continued to be practiced outside of session. Then, we regroup, process, and re-strategize as needed.

When it comes to treating people with depression, we pinpoint life events that contribute to your trauma. Afterwards we help you find ways to change or adapt and cope your day to day situations. We will guide you on how to overcome feeling of hopelessness, isolation, anger, and provide solutions on how to deal with discouraging and negative thoughts.

People may medicate their depression with TV, alcohol, food, isolation, or excessive sleep. One definition of depression is "anger turned inward." Talking with a psychologist is one of the best methods to understand your down moods, unusual thoughts, and self-defeating beliefs. Friends may say, "Get over it" about your jealousy toward your sister or your sadness over your girlfriend who texted "it's over" 3 months ago. If you are on medication for already-diagnosed depression, therapy is important to bring new ideas into your brain. If you are considering medication, start with talk therapy. Don't keep waiting for "it" to go away. What's at the bottom of your depression?

You may have found that pushing through hard days just isn't working anymore. Maybe it is hard to get out of bed or experience joy as you once did . We use a grace based approach to find positive and healthy solutions to manage your overwhelming feelings so that you can find your energy and purpose. We will look at your life holistically to determine if there are health problems or biochemical reasons for your depression. We want you to be free of shame so you can develop a healthy sense of self worth, competence so you can experience joy and hope!

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been identified as the treatment of choice for depression. Whether you are on medication or not, CBT strategies can offer relief from the heavy weight of depressive symptoms. Kari's clients gain an understanding of what makes someone vulnerable to depression, how to increase motivation, energy, and positive mood. They will learn how to react to difficult situations with control and composure and better combat depressive tendencies in the future. Because teens display depression differently than adults, parents are often unsure about their son/daughter. Kari will provide an assessment and if necessary, a plan for effective treatment.

People suffering from depression have more negative thoughts about themselves, the world, and the future. Those who are depressed also tend to feel more helpless, hopeless and worthless. Research with depressed individuals suggests that treatment focusing on changing peoples’ thought (cogntive behavioral therapy) is a particularly effective treatment for depression. CBT as part of a comprehensive treatment plan is a very effective approach to treating depression.

Depression can leave you feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. It can be hard to complete simple tasks, go to work or care for ourselves; being overloaded with thoughts has zapped your energy. But, there's hope for a way out through therapy. I utilize Cognitive and dialectical behavior therapies, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, and person centered therapy to help you overcome the internal battle that keeps you from getting better.

Depressive symptoms can stem from a variety of sources in an individual’s life usually reflecting a sense of loss. While medications can be helpful, it’s the behavioral symptoms associated with depression that can leave a lingering impact even after the depressive symptoms have stated to improve. Being pulled into depressive experiences over and over reflects both habits that can be difficult to break and/or subconscious issues that have yet to be addressed. Through processes such as hypnotherapy that address the whole person, we are able to capture a wider range of challenges and help the individual to regain the ground lost to he depressive illness.

Are you struggling with depression? Do you find it hard to get out of bed in the morning? Have you lost interest in things you have liked to do in the past? Are you feeling down most of the time? Research shows that talk therapy can help get you back to living your life again. Together, we can work to come up with a plan to help you get back on the right track. For more information, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Have you felt not good enough, rejected, or alone? You can feel helpless not being able to change your feelings. Depression can be scary and cannot be reasoned away. Depression is an energy disorder, a thief of enjoyment, accomplishment, connection with others, and self-care. I can help you identify, understand and regulate difficult emotions, and find a workable plan to address how difficult it can be.

My approach will vary depending on the severity of the depression. The first importance is stability of well being. From there I will work on thoughts, feelings, and behaviors working towards short terms goals. Goals will include small behavior changes that will help to be building blocks and also cognitive work on realistic truths. Often things like sleep, nutrition, and exercise are also evaluated and improved in the process as ways to counter depression.