Depression Treatment
San Diego, California
Therapy for Depression
If you think you might have depression, Inward Healing Therapy can help. Our therapists use clinically-proven methods to chip away at the roots of your depression and help you experience renewed joy in your life. To learn more about our online depression therapy, reach out to Inward Healing Therapy today.
Do You Need Depression Treatment?
Whether you have clinical depression is a matter for a professional evaluation. However, you are more likely to require help if any of the following statements apply to you:
You used to be a happy person, but now you are beset by low mood
You feel like you should be enjoying your life, but you can’t
You find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning
You feel a lack of motivation to complete basic tasks, such as cooking, washing or going to work
You have a gut-wrenching mental pain that won’t go away
You regularly cry and don’t want to be around others
You feel guilty for enjoying simple pleasures, such as eating or indulging in a hobby
You feel like there is a dark aura surrounding you and you can’t escape
You aren’t cleaning your home or looking after your living environment
You don’t have energy to provide loved ones with the attention you feel they deserve
Many people in San Diego and throughout California experience these signs of depression in the course of an ordinary day. However, for those with depression, these feelings may persist for two weeks or more.
If you feel that any of these statements apply to you, Inward Healing Therapy can help with our online depression therapy. Our team plots a course through your suffering so that you can emerge on the other side as a stronger, happier, more joyful person.
Critically, our therapists sympathize with your situation. We understand what depression is like on the inside, and we know that it is not your fault. If you have a persistent low mood, talk to us today and see how we can help.
Situations That Trigger Depression
People who experience the following situations are more likely to develop depression and require treatment
Long-term unemployment
Divorce or relationship breakdown
Stressful work
Abusive or uncaring relationships
Loneliness and isolation
Redundancy
Serious illness
Death or loss of a loved one
Interpersonal conflict
Depression also relates to other personal factors. For example, women are more likely than men to become depressed. Children of parents with depression are more likely to feel depressed. And substance misuse is also more common among those with the condition.
How Our Depression Treatment Works
Inward Healing Therapy tailors depression treatment to your situation. The type of depression therapy you receive will depend on the severity of your low mood and what is causing it.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is to change the way your brain processes thoughts, emotions and impulses to improve behaviors and moods. It works best in patients whose depression is the result of incorrect conscious beliefs in the present.
We use cognitive behavioral therapy to help reduce symptoms of depression and enhance the joy in your life.
The cognitive aspect of CBT focuses on adjusting your thoughts and feelings so that they become more positive over time. You learn techniques that let you interrupt harmful thought patterns and replace them with better ones.
By contrast, behavioral therapy is a set of interventions designed to help you adjust aggravating habits and actions associated with your depression. By changing how you respond to life’s situations, you can deal with low mood more effectively, or eliminate it altogether.
CBT skills can be developed and practiced in addition to psychoanalysis which is talk therapy over a period of time. Talk therapy helps you understand the root causes of your depression so you can make lasting change.
As part of your depression therapy, you will keep a journal where you record your thoughts. We will then evaluate what you write down, helping you to identify thought patterns that might be generating depressive episodes. Common depression triggers we see in our clinic include tendencies to:
See the worst possible outcome instead of appreciating the full range of possibilities
Personalize what people say, and see their comments as an indictment of your character
Minimize or exaggerate the importance of a particular event or moment
Automatically think negatively about yourself and engage in self-attack
Discard positive interpretations of situations, telling yourself that they “don’t count”
View situations in all-or-nothing terms, instead of shades of gray
Dwell on aspects of reality that are particularly dark, such as nuclear war or economic collapse
Inward Healing Therapy counselors assist you in replacing these harmful thought patterns with more helpful ones. Through a process of inner engineering, you’ll learn how to gain more control of your mind and use it as a platform to help you live a more joyful life. Techniques you will develop include, practicing positive self-talk, disarming harmful thoughts and reactions, and learning how to accurately assess external situations.
The risks of CBT are small. While you may experience some challenging emotions and experience transient stress, the vast majority of patients experience positive results from treatment. You’ll learn how to respond to situations that you might otherwise find depressing and want to avoid.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is another approach for treating depression at Inward Healing Therapy. It explores how unconscious thoughts, beliefs, and traumas from the past might be causing your symptoms. It is helpful if there are no easily-identifiable triggers for your depression.
Sessions take the form of open-ended and extensive discussions of your thoughts, feelings, and impulses. You meet with your therapist for one session per week, with most sessions lasting under an hour. Unlike CBT, there is no formal structure to the therapy session. Instead, you engage in free association with your therapist providing feedback and direction where necessary.
Psychiatric Evaluation
In some cases, you may require a psychiatric evaluation. This is to check the severity of your depression and whether you may need medications to support regular talk therapies. Often, using a combination of interventions can be more effective for those with severe symptoms.
What Benefits Can You Expect From CBT and Psychodynamic Therapy?
Both CBT and psychodynamic therapy are clinically-proven methods for treating depression.
Currently, CBT is the most studied form of talk therapy. Dozens of studies back up its effectiveness, even over the short term. Research shows that people who receive eight to 12 CBT sessions over two to three months continue using and benefiting from the techniques that they learn more than a year later.
Psychodynamic therapy is less well-studied. However, a 2010 study by the American Psychological Association showed that the intervention may have longer-lasting benefits than traditional techniques. The intervention allows patients to gain valuable self-knowledge which they can then use to lead healthier, more productive lives.
What To Expect From Your Treatment
Every year, thousands of people in San Diego and millions across California experience depression. However, a vast number also overcome it and restore their quality of life.
When you arrive at our clinic, your therapist will help you lay out your treatment goals. You’ll discuss the nature of your problem and what you would like to achieve by the time your online depression counseling ends.
Your therapist will work to understand your story and gain insight on the root causes of your depression in order to help you gain self-awareness. This helps reduce shame and stigma surrounding your depressive symptoms. The therapeutic relationship is unique and valuable in helping you make lasting change.
As your treatment progresses, you may notice that your depression declines or disappears entirely. You are free to stop sessions if this happens. You can also resume therapy if your depression returns.
During depression treatment sessions, your therapist will show you how to deal with depression and prevent it from coming back. Powerful interventions include things like exercising regularly, cutting back on social media time, building strong relationships with stable people, reducing stress, and minimizing daily choices.
Demonstrated benefits of CBT and psychodynamic training include:
Improved daily mood
More energy to spend time with the people you love
Better focus at work
Improved sleep quality and ability to get to sleep
Better interpersonal behavior and relationships
Reduction in emotional outbursts and crying
A cleaner, less cluttered home environment
Less guilt for enjoying life’s simple pleasures
A greater ability to feel joy in life
Get Depression Help Today
Dealing with depression can be challenging. But at Inward Healing Therapy, our compassionate team in San Diego, CA is here to help. Our experienced therapists use robust, clinically-proven strategies to help you experience joy in your life once more.
We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we tailor our approach to suit the severity and circumstances of your depression. Both talk therapies and psychiatric evaluations are available.
San Diego Therapists at Inward Healing Therapy are always on your side. We understand what depression feels like and can always sympathize with your perspective. Schedule a free consultation with us today and put your life back on the path to joy.
If you have any further questions, feel free to check out my FAQ page for more information.