Depression Counseling in Forest Heights, MD.

Robyn E. Brickel, M.A., LMFT, LLC treats depression and all mood disorders in her practice. By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Robyn provides a supportive environment, as well as a safe place in the clients' life to facilitate changes.

Are you feeling hopeless, like life will never get better? Are you having trouble sleeping or eating? If so, you might be suffering from depression. One of the hardest things about depression is that it's hard to believe that anything can change it. Well, things can change for you! Contact me to learn new ways of thinking and feeling that will help you to manage your depression.

Depression affects and is affected by your actions, thoughts, and emotions. We will stop this vicious cycle by starting to acknowledge the factors that contribute to your depression and develop strategies that will provide relief. As you gain ground against your depression, we will target more complicated problems and develop more comprehensive strategies. You will start with simple behavioral changes. You will follow with changes in how you think of yourself, others, and the problems you face. You will continue with changes in how you strategize and solve problems. Finally, you will develop methods to maintain these changes and continue to accomplish your goals with confidence and hope.

Taking The First Step is Always The Hardest Let us help you, and together we can defeat depression. The right approach will help you feel better and lead you to recovery. Remember that feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are symptoms of depression—not the reality of your situation. Getting support is critical for you to fight depression. Our depression therapists understand your situation & take steps to help you feel better.

Depression leaves you feeling disconnected, sad, and/or worthless. It robs your life of vitality and a sense of purpose. But you do not have to be depressed alone! Therapy is very effective in reducing the symptoms of depression, and it can also not just return you to a pre-depression "normal" but help you to reach a new and different, improved place. Psychoanalytic therapy has been shown to not just reduce symptoms, but to aid you in developing a more confident approach to your life that leaves you feeling like you're living a robust life.

Simply finding the energy to search out options for a therapist shows your desire to get better. And that is something to hold on to as tightly as you can. In this day and age where we seem to only communicate through text messages and phone apps it becomes more difficult to allow ourselves to feel as well as heal. Working together we can process the challenges that are holding you down as well as work towards goals that can get you past these hurdles.

Depression is a signal that your life is not in balance; it is also an opportunity and call to action for a better life. I provide a holistic and educational approach to help you: • Examine triggers of depression; • Identify and transform thoughts, behaviors and feeling tendencies that lead to depression; • Promote physical wellness; • Learn skills to resolve conflicts and improve relationships; • Adapt mindfulness skills for calmness, acceptance and compassion; • Enhance the body-mind connection; • Define values, create a life-vision plan, and pursue a life that is worth living. My approach is based upon a belief in everyone's lovability and personal worth.

There may be a time in your life when you feel lonely, sad, and uninterested in things that you once considered fun to do. For some of us depression is situational and improves with the situation improves. For others, depression may run in the family and your mood may go up and down. I will help you to understand how you can manage your symptoms and move forward to meet treatment and personal goals. Interventions will be based on each client's needs.

There are many varieties of depression, from the nearly universal experience of “blues” to soul-crushing, “can’t lift my head out of bed” depression. We help sort out the source of depression, which can include being emotionally “underfed”, to un-grieved losses, trauma experiences, biological disorders, family emotional inheritance, and a lack of connection with your inner source of guidance. After exploring the experience of depression, and the context of a client’s life, we collaboratively shape a plan of treatment, and carefully monitor progress. We coordinate with other care providers, such as physicians.

Depression is a cloud over one's life. For those afflicted with depression, please understand you are not alone. You are not going out of your mind, and the black cloud can be lifted. As a depressed Christian, don't feel ashamed. A sad truth is that many Christians attach spiritual failure to depression. So, they suffer in silence, hoping, and praying for deliverance. For clients wishing to be treated without habit forming drugs, I can assist in finding a reprieve, through Bibliotherapeutic, and God's earthly grown methods. If it is determined that medication is required, I can provide a referral. With both methodologies in place, the mind, body, and soul can be successfully restored.

Depression is a suffering that takes the joy out of life and seems endless and hopeless. It drains your self-esteem. It is a sign of a problem but it makes solving problems more difficult. Sometimes medication can help, but psychotherapy makes the medication more effective. There are several approaches to getting out of depression and I would use all of them. We can work to notice and challenge depressing thoughts. We can work with underlying trauma or loss where you may have begun to feel depressed. I can also support you to take the kind of actions that lift your mood. You will learn ways of being more nourished and fulfilled.

You did not choose depression, and it is not something that can simply be “shaken off.” Depression is real, life-altering, and can convince you that happiness or peace will never return. Yet depression does not define you. Together, we can acknowledge its weight while also challenging the painful story it tells. My role is to walk with you through the heaviness, to hold space for the difficulty, and to help you discover that hope and healing are possible. You do not have to face this alone.

Life can present you with difficult situations which are hard to process and move past. These challenges are not on your timeline and affect everything. Having worked in many healthcare settings, I am familiar navigating life-changing events and grief. I understand the territory of encountering loss, coping with trauma, the complexity of the medical system and living with illness. These issues can have ripple effects on your relationships, sense of self and perceptions of the world. I know how complex things can get, and I will support you during this process.