Mental health support for physical illness, pain and uncertainty. We know that anxiety, depression and chronic stress often occur in tandem with or as a result of physical illness but these can be overlooked or we may fear addressing these mental health challenges directly. Feelings of sadness, despair and hopelessness are common reactions and can be hard to deal with on your own. Other signs to take note of are low mood, loss of interest in activities you once found pleasure in, increased fatigue and changes in sleep. You do not have to go through this alone.
Registered Social Worker, HonBA, BSW, MSW, RSW, EMDR Certified
Depression can feel like you are in a bottomless pit of despair. In over twenty years of treating individuals with depression, I have witnessed people wanting to give up, feeling like there is no hope, not having the energy to fight. Through gentle compassionate work we will create tools and gather insights that will help you to move from that freeze or functional freeze state into a more mobilized and present place.
While working with depressed people my job is to emphasize security, structure, and learning.
My approach is to provide support and appreciation for your efforts as opposed to supporting more than frustration.
If you are a depressed person you are probably frustrating yourself enough as it is, am I right?
And it feels permanent! Well, it isn't.
During therapy you will first learn how to accept support from your surroundings.
Then you will learn to create a system of self-support with support.
Our work will centre around a primary task of creating a safe environment, a safe relational field, in which your self-healing powers can be activated.
Psychotherapy, on its own or with combination with antidepressants, is now known to be an effective treatment for depression" (Roubal, 2007).
The problem is you aren't going to solve anything laying in bed!
Come lay on my couch, with your unshowered self and let's be depressed together.
You don't have to do depressed alone.
Call me.
Depression can be debilitating, leaving one feeling disconnected in their relationships, lacking of motivation and experiencing a general loss of enjoyment of activities. We can work together to develop strategies to overcome the negative thoughts that accompany depression, to restore motivation and energy as well as to reconnect with yourself and in your relationships.
Can we transform emotional pain into personal growth and find hope? I can help you become aware of how certain negative automatic thoughts, beliefs and expectations contribute to feelings of anxiety and sadness. Often these automatic negative thought patterns are developed as a result of a past painful and difficult experience. They determine how we deal with loss, change, conflict and social interactions. Supporting you in identifying and understanding these thought patterns, can help resolve problems in maintaining relationships and establish a stronger sense of self-worth. Schedule a free consultation with me to see if we are a good fit for therapy.
Depression is often accompanied with a range of symptoms from loss of interest to lack of motivation that can often seem insurmountable. As a Registered Psychotherapist and Recreation Therapist, I am skilled at assisting clients in navigating the cycle of depression, finding effective, long-lasting, and practical solutions to coping with depression that can help restore many areas of your life that have been affected including interpersonal relationships.