Counselling for Depression

What is depression?

There are many reasons why you might feel depressed, and these will differ from person to person. Sometimes the cause is obvious – a particular disappointment or frustration, or the loss of a loved one, a relationship problem or breakdown or struggles in starting or maintaining friendships/relationships – but that’s not always the case. Typically, there are several underlying reasons and contributing factors working in combination to result in depression. These may include:

• negative life events such as job loss, family problems or divorce
• life changes such as transitioning to adulthood, or a lack of preparation for adult life, or moving into menopause
• bereavement, abortion or miscarriage and how you have come to terms with your loss
• adverse childhood experiences including trauma and abuse
• long-term suppressed anger
• personal circumstances such as loneliness, stress, physical exhaustion or disability
• physical illness including viral infections (e.g. glandular fever), painful or chronic illnesses (e.g. arthritis, ME, MS), hormonal imbalances (e.g. under-active thyroid)
• life threatening conditions such as cancer and heart disease
• lack of social interaction, difficulty maintaining successful friendships and relationships

What are the signs of depression?

Everyone’s experience of depression varies, but there are some common signs and symptoms. It’s important to remember that these symptoms can be part of the normal ‘lows’ experienced by everyone now and again. However, the more symptoms you have, the stronger they are, and the longer they have lasted, and the more intense they are, the more likely it is that you’re dealing with depression. When these symptoms are causing problems in your life, getting help can strengthen your ability to beat depression.

• Low mood
• Hopelessness
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of interest or pleasure
• Changes in appetite
• Loss of sex drive
• Irritability
• Crying
• Difficulty concentrating
• Sleeplessness or excessive sleeping
• Lethargy
• Pessimism
• Social withdrawal
• Suicidal thoughts

When should you get help with depression?

While everyone feels low now and again, how can you tell when your symptoms have reached a point when you need professional help?

As a rule of thumb, if your depressive symptoms last for more than 2 weeks and you feel depressed for most of the day, every day, you should seek help from a GP or a counsellor.  If your depression starts to interfere with your ability to function at work, in your family, relationships and social life, or your overall sense of contentment is affected to the point where you might be contemplating self-harm or suicide, you will urgently need professional support to beat depression. It may seem like an impossible task to overcome your depression, but the sooner you seek help, the more successful the chances of turning your negative outlook around. if you are in urgent need of help and feel at risk, please speak to your GP, call 111 or the Samaritain’s on 116 123.

Therapy and tools to help with depression

I use a unique blend of counselling and interpersonal therapy techniques to help you understand your own depression as everyone experiences depression differently, and work on reducing your depression symptoms, until you feel more able to cope.

How many sessions do I need to help with depression?

Most counselling sessions take place once per week and last for 50 minutes. You can have as few or as many sessions you need, but it’s good to remember that at least 6 sessions are beneficial to allow time to build rapport and trust your counsellor so you can open up more freely and make good progress.