Depression
Depression is a common diagnosis we treat at Grow Through Life Counseling. Depression can occur at any age and onset can be gradual or rapid. Some common depression diagnosis in youth include Adjustment Disorder with Depression, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Dsythymia and Mood Disorders not specified.. We typically consider depression a clinical diagnosis when it impacts functioning of daily life. For children and teens this could mean impacting academics or social relationships. For adults their work performance, activity levels and relationships. Depression has lots of symptoms including: low mood, fatigue, apathy, negative thoughts, thinking of worst case scenarios frequently, feelings of being unable to improve mood, general dissatisfaction not associated with any particular stressor. Depression can be part of a grief and loss process or major life change. This may be a normal response in the short term but if this lasts longer than expected, it can be considered clinical. We do see new mothers with postpartum depression and counseling can be very helpful for helping to resolve all types of depression. We are expected to see a rise in Depression as we deal with pandemic. We know the crisis hotline calls have increased and suicidal thoughts have increased with the increased stress. Any suicidal thoughts indicate depression is present and treatment is needed. If you have these thoughts, please seek care. Depression is a function of the neurotransmitters and neurochemicals being out of balance. Depression is also commonly part of major life adjustments and frequently can arise when family changes such as divorce, breakups, death or loss, moves or changes schools or work occur. If you are unsure if you or a family member are experiencing depression, we recommend scheduling an assessment to get this answer.
Depression Treatment
At Grow Through Life Counseling, we treat depression in children, teens and adults with a combination of psychotherapeutic interventions. Each therapist may have a little different approach, but we all use interventions of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Play Therapy, Strengths Based and Solutions Focused Modalities to create insight into how and why the depression exists and to start new coping strategies to help increase neurochemical balances and increase positive neural pathways. Practice implementing the strategies taught by the therapist are very important and the more motivated our clients are to use more productive coping skills and patterns of thought, the faster positive progress can occur. Also, we promote using the positive skills you may already have for example: exercise, yoga, meditation, reaching out to trusted supports, creative activities, as these promote balanced brain states and improve mood. If someone has been depressed for quite awhile before seeking care, this can impact prognosis and it may take longer to see results. We love helping youth because we know if we can do early intervention we can reduce depression both short and over the long term of their life as well, improving the quality of their life for the rest of their life. There is hope and psychotherapy is very effective in treating all types of Depression.
If you or a family member is experiencing depression, we'd love to help. Grow Through Life offers in person depression treatment in San Diego, Sorrento Valley, La Mesa, Santiee, Eastlake, Scripps Ranch, Oceanside and Murrieta or via Telehealth in CA. You can reach us by calling our intake department 619-549-0329 ext 0 to schedule your assessment. We will either answer or please leave us a message and we'll call you back to get you schedule with one of our great team members. We are taking new clients!
For more information on suicide prevention please check out this page on our site:
https://www.growthroughlifecounseling.com/teen-depression-and-suicide-prevent
