Depression Counseling in Highlands, NJ.

Depression is a mood disorder that can cause a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest that can interfere with daily functioning. Reaching out for help is a step towards wellness. Symptoms of depression can vary from person to person, but it is a very treatable condition. Therapy for depression helps you overcome the feelings of hopelessness and despair and to gain control of your life.

Depression can feel extremely dark and debilitating. Therapy can help bring light into the darkness. Dr. Spada can hold the flashlight for you, while you lead yourself into the light. Many things in life can make us feel depressed. Understanding deeper thought patterns can hero facilitate feeling differently and living your life differently. When it comes to understanding your depression, exploring what's really going on and brining intentionality into your life is key.

Depression is a feeling that can feel incredibly heavy to hold. Sometimes we experience challenging life events that leave us feeling much sadness, grief, inner pain and lack of joy, which interfere with our daily functioning. That is called depression. With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (challenging unhelpful thoughts) and psychodynamic modalities, I can help you work through that sadness, heaviness and pain, so that you may begin the journey of healing work. This is the first step towards holding the sadness, addressing yourself in a safe space so we can slowly help you process and shift to start feeling lighter and start seeing the sunshine and tasting the small joys in everyday life.

I use a compassionate, evidence based approach to help clients manage Major Depression by combining CBT strategies, emotional processing, and structured goal setting. I support clients in understanding their symptoms, challenging negative thought patterns, and rebuilding daily routines that strengthens motivation and well being.

At MVCG Psychotherapy, we support clients facing depression with empathy, clinical expertise, and personalized strategies for healing. We help individuals identify underlying causes, manage symptoms, and rebuild a sense of purpose and connection. Using evidence-based therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we guide clients in reshaping negative thought patterns, improving mood, and restoring daily functioning—empowering them to move forward with renewed energy, hope, and self-compassion.

I will determine the severity of depression and the need for medication. We will figure out if depression is an acute response to a crisis or situation. We will look at the causes, your experience of depression, what are triggers for depression, and ways to cope with it and give you better control of it. If it is a recurrent depression we will find ways for you to cope, and develop good support networks if you don't have them.

Research shows that the most effective treatment for depression is psychotherapy. Depression can range from feeling down to major symptoms such as having trouble even getting out of bed or contemplating suicide (if you have suicidal thoughts or plans, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255). Online counseling is effective for depression because it is easy to access: you can start treatment without even leaving the house.

Almost everybody has depression of some type or another. Sometimes depression is linked to a childhood trauma and sometimes it comes from a recent traumatic event. No matter where it comes from, it can affect your mood, your thinking and your behavior. Because I have learned to deal with my own depression, I can help you deal with yours. I use a variety of modalities to work with you and get you out of your depression so that you can function better in your personal life and your career.

Sometimes depression happens because you have experienced a loss: perhaps a loved one died, or a relationship has ended, or you have lost a job or an opportunity. When these and other events happen, you may feel depleted of energy as if there is no reason to go move on, you may lose sleep or sleep more, you may lose weight or gain more. I will help you understand what you are feeling, and together we will find ways to replenish your inner energy so that you are able to be a peace with what has happened and move forward in a direction that brings a sense of fulfillment in life.

Our enriched, multi-modal approach is effective for clients who consult us regarding depression and mood-modulation issues. Often the combination of cognitive-behavioral, supportive and psychodynamic-ego-enhancing approaches help moderately depressed clients within a relatively short time--usually within a few months. Our approachability, empathic listening skills and pragmatic conflict-resolution expertise are most useful for clients suffering from the debilitating effects of depression. We also stress a holistic approaches that integrate medical and nutritional needs, as well as incorporating stress reduction, physical exercise and meditation work. Our clients often benefit greatly.

If you have a pulse and a heart, you have been sad. Using the science of happiness rather than standard interventions for depression we focus on increasing positive emotion, engagement, and meaning rather than directly targeting depressive symptoms. In using these interventions with clients I have noted the effects of these interventions in a variety of settings. In informal and clinical settings these interventions have commonly been reported to me and referred to as “life-changing.”

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.

Clients struggling from feeling emotionally hurt, isolated, selfish, helpless, or hopeless can gain insight into symptoms and treatment of depression. Clients can learn emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal relationship skills and heal from past painful experiences that may influence current thoughts and belief systems in an unhealthy way.

My approach attacks depression by quickly focusing in on the primary cause of depression. I show people how their current beliefs about their adversities, past and present, are the primary cause of depression. I teach people how it is well within their power to adopt, without delay, alternative beliefs that help them cope with and prevail over these adversities. I also show my patient how to feel worthwhile and adequate even if she is depressed and performing poorly in life. Often self-downing goes with feelings of depression and makes for depression over being depressed. REBT tackles the rut of depression by attacking both the original and the secondary feelings of depression.

You can find a way to eliminate depression, get depression help with depression counseling, and jump start your life. Depression is not just emotional it is physical as well. The exhaustion and fatigue can be the hardest part. We will work on becoming more connected to your life and your loved ones. When this happens you will get a renewed sense of energy and begin to feel good once more.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for depression, we address negative thought patterns and behaviors contributing to your feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Together, we identify distorted thinking and replace it with more realistic, balanced thoughts. Through structured exercises and homework assignments, you'll learn coping skills to manage symptoms and challenge depressive beliefs. We also focus on behavior activation, gradually reintroducing enjoyable activities and routines into your life. With CBT, you'll gain tools to break free from the cycle of depression, cultivate self-awareness, and develop healthier ways of thinking and behaving, leading to long-lasting relief.