Depression Counseling in Kensington, NY.

In my approach to depression counseling and treatment, I provide a compassionate and holistic perspective, tailoring my interventions to the unique needs of each client. Drawing upon my 8 years of experience as a Board-Certified adult psychiatrist and specialization in Reproductive Psychiatry and Integrative Women's Mental Health, I offer evidence-based therapies and medication management.

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.

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.”

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 is a mood disorder where it is important to seek out a professional. Chris has treated many people with depression and other mood disorders. Millions of Americans are effected by Anxiety and Depression with various symptoms of low mood, irritability, loss of pleasure. As a veteran psychotherapist who has treated many clients with depression, proper assessment is essential that can include coordinating care with a physician. While not all individuals need medication, having a therapist who can identify symptoms and offer empathy and understanding to individuals who suffer from a mental health disorder is beneficial. Chris uses a cognitive behavior therapy approach to help clients.

Are you struggling with feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, having trouble sleeping or feeling as if all you want to do is sleep? Well chances are you may be suffering from depression. Our therapist use a variation of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), mindfulness and meditation, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and interpersonal therapy techniques to help relieve your depressive symptoms. If you think you may be depressed you don't have to suffer in silence, contact us for a free consultation.

Depression doesn't always look the way people expect. Sometimes it's not sadness so much as numbness, disconnection, or just going through the motions. I work with clients experiencing depression using CBT, EMDR, and interpersonal therapy to help you understand what's driving it, shift the thought patterns keeping you stuck, and build coping skills that actually hold up. We'll also look at the relational pieces, because depression rarely exists in a vacuum. This isn't about putting a positive spin on things. It's about doing the real work so you can start feeling like yourself again.

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.

Social anxiety and shyness can easily lead to feelings of depression. If you feel depressed because you feel alone, isolated and have trouble making friends, you might be glad to know that there is a way to learn and practice the social skills you missed learning as a child. You can learn and practice new skills, meet new people, learn how to start conversations and create your own social circle. Life can change and it takes just one step to start the process rolling in the right drection.

Depression can range from being draining to being completely debilitating. Wherever you land on that spectrum, so much of depression involves negative thinking of oneself, others, and the world. Talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are research-backed successful tools in providing support for those experiencing depression. I use talk therapy to provide a space for clients to share their feelings and things that either lead to or are affected by their feelings of depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps identify and shift negative thinking patterns as well as behaviors, which ultimately creates a more positive cycle in ones life and decreases symptoms of depression.

Our work starts by acknowledging the social, cultural, and environmental conditions that may contribute to the problems that affect your quality of life and capacity to receive or engage in mental health care. Therapy is tailored to your preferences to minimize stressors and build skills for interacting more effectively with the outside world. The behaviors, emotions, relationship patterns, or self-beliefs that no longer work for you can be transformed, rather than pathologized by identifying external power imbalances that impede quality of life and highlighting the good intentions behind difficult interactions.

I provide clients with a safe place to explore the root causes of their depression. Within the therapeutic relationship, we will also examine how the individual's thoughts, actions and feelings are connected to and feeding into their depression. We will work on breaking these negative cycles and start positive more adaptive ways of thinking, and acting to improve their mood.

Depression means sadness that may result in crying or may simply steal your happiness. It may be difficult for you to function throughout your day, to think positive thoughts, to make decisions or to enjoy anything. It also involves low energy, sleep and eating disturbances and isolation. I help my clients get through their depression by finding out who they are, seeing how they can regain self-confidence, acting like a mirror to reflect your best qualities and helping regain feelings of connectedness. Simultaneously, each symptom is worked on by determining coping skills to match the problem in strength and intensity.