San Diego Depression Therapy & Counseling

Depression is more than feeling “under the weather” or having “the blues”. We all are upsetand saddened by different life events, such as a break-up or the loss of a loved one. Depressionis more than just feeling sad. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain, causing you to experiencethese normal feelings of sadness more intensely and for a longer period of time. It is oftenaccompanied by feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness. You lose yourability to enjoy activities you once enjoyed, causing strain on your friendships with others. Youhave very little or no energy to complete your daily routine, causing your health, hygiene, andwell-being to disintegrate. As you can imagine, symptoms of depression cause relationship,familial, and friendship problems as well as affect your daily functioning, your ability to go toschool or work, and your overall satisfaction with your life.

There are three major types of depression: 1. Major Depressive Disorder – feelings ofhopelessness, helplessness or worthlessness for a period of at least two weeks,2. Dysthymia – chronic, low-grade depression lasting at least two years, and 3. BipolarDepression – symptoms of depression and mania are both occurring.

Fortunately however, symptoms of depression are usually very responsive to treatment. Sincethe definition and experience of depression varies from individual to individual, the course oftreatment may also vary. Generally however, a psychodynamic approach, combiningcomponents of different therapies, is beneficial for most depression sufferers. Together we willexplore the best treatment option for you and your specific symptoms.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited treatment option that focuses on the presentproblems at hand. IPT will help you examine your interpersonal relationships at a deeper leveland focus on relieving the debilitating symptoms of depression as a medical illness.

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Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) has also been empirically proven to lessen symptoms ofdepression, since its primary focus is the interconnectedness between your thoughts, feelings,and behaviors. We will try to identify the reasoning behind your depression and target thenegative automatic thoughts and behaviors that go along with this illness. Once we haveidentified the automatic thoughts that are contributing to your depression, we can work togetheron cognitively re-framing these thoughts by evaluating their purpose. CBT is more structuredthan IPT, but because of this it is also more demanding of you. You will be required to completehomework and practice techniques and coping mechanisms outside of our visits so that theprogress we make in the office can be generalized to your activities of daily living.

For more severe depressive symptoms, such as suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors, acombination of medication and psychotherapy may be recommended by your doctor.

The treatment mode is up to you, as it has to be something you are comfortable in pursuing.Whatever the approach you choose to take, I will support you through the process of healingand overcoming depression by listening, respecting, and understanding your experiences in asafe and secure environment.

Copyright ©2012 Jan Rakoff. All Rights Reserved.

San Diego Therapist for Depression

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