Depression Counseling in South Seattle, WA.

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.

Everone experiences pain, struggle and stress in life and you may be feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. There are many different causes and different symptoms of depression.YOU ARE NOT DEFINED BY YOUR DEPRESSION: You are more than your mood. We can work on looking at your depression, understanding it, creating some skills to help you become more resilient, look at your thinking, your lifestyle patterns and your relationships. Remember you can learn how to deal with depression! The challege of depression can be an opportunity for personal growth. Let's take action and you'll feel better!

There is a way to move beyond depression and make sense of suffering. We will work together to help you develop a new and different relationship with your painful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors so you can have greater life satisfaction. Struggling with your feelings pulls you away from the life experiences you want. By learning ways to let go of the painful struggle with difficult thoughts and feelings, you are free to connect with what is meaningful to you. I want to help you become more grounded in the present moment, gain clarity on what really matters to you, and commit to living a full, satisfying life.

Dealing with pain in life is one of the most challenging things we do. As a therapist, my job is to sit with you in your suffering and help give you tools to overcome the sources of pain in your life. Whether you have contemplated suicide, struggled fruitlessly to overcome your challenges, or are the family member of someone going through depression, I can help you find the hope that will help you hang on until the pain gets better.

Depression. It's one of the most core maladies to all of humanity. Catholic monks used to call it "acedia" or the noon day demon; robbing one's will, the ability to freely engage in life. In the modern day, we have more methods than ever to "escape" the feelings we don't like. Yet depression is one of the ones that stick around. My work focuses on facing depression while not villainizing it. I pay particular attention to both your life story and who you are here and now. Through this we can learn to work with our emotions and find new ways of dealing with the messiness of life.

I work with many clients who are depressed and am generally very good at assessing which clients would benefit from medication in addition to talk therapy and which clients would benefit from therapy alone. I am very good at relating to depressed clients and try to help them regain connection to self and others as well as find meaning in their suffering.

The treatment of depression begins initially with the addressing the depression symptoms that are disrupting your life. Without attention to these symptoms first, it is difficult for individuals to begin to examine the reasons behind the depression without provoking more of it. Once these symptoms are looked into, we will start to examine the life situations you are in and the relationships, stories, family roles, events and unprocessed emotion that may be the root of the depression. With some time, consistency, openness and commitment to the process, individuals will find their symptoms eased and the enjoyment of every day returned.

All of us go through difficult times, however some times some us go through more than our fair share of difficulties. It is during these times that we can benefit from someone who can lend a non judging ear, provide hope, support and gentle guidance. I take great care to see that your needs are being met. We always move at your pace and focus on your goals. I will hear your concerns and together we will tackle what is important to you.

Grey Matters International, Inc. and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, Ph.D. handles depression and other emotional disorders in a very unique way. Most of therapy or counseling processes utilize validation, unconditional positive regard, and reframing as common techniques to get someone to heal from their depression. Though this can be helpful, it rarely fixes the core problem behind it and for tough cases we then refer them usually to a psychiatrist for medication which can have tons of side effects. Instead, why not try a natural and arguably more effective way to not just change your mind, but change the brain--where the depression is rooted. Contact us at kevin@kevinflemingphd.com.