Depression Counselling in Gibbons, AB.

Depression can feel isolating and lonely but the collaborative process of counselling can help client's to shift from feeling helpless and hopeless to finding enjoyment in life. Client's can also experience an overall improvement in their daily life from including an increase in energy, and an improvement in memory, concentration, and ability to focus.

The depression of our feelings can make things feel better for the moment and can even be a healthy way to manage in the short-term. The problem arises when we push these feelings down over time. What makes it worse is that others may even promote the depression of our feelings. But our feelings do not go away and we begin to feel depressed. Learning to reengage with our feelings helps us rediscover our strength in managing them. I have successfully worked with people from a variety of backgrounds to treat depression and look forward to working with you. Visit my website at www.prairieowlpsychology.ca from more details.

Depression can feel like overwhelming sadness, or maybe like you are in a "funk" that you can not get out of. People often start to isolate themselves, and focus on negative thoughts. I offer a warm, safe place to share your feelings, examine your relationships and perceptions that may be contributing to your depression. I introduce concrete suggestions that will help you get your back on track. People frequently feel a sense of relief after sharing their burdens. In discussing experiences people are often able to view themselves differently and gain insight into how they can more effectively deal with situations and relationships.

Are you struggling with the constant influence of depression in your life? Please know that there is hope for you, for your life, and for relief from the burden of depression. You may be in need of the support that you will find by coming to see me in therapy. Depression can tear a whole in the normal activities of life, and keeps you feeling lost, alone, and without hope. You are not alone, and together we will work through your experience of depression and help you to move towards the things that you love and care for. I am confident that together we will find a way through pain to joy and peace.

Depression doesn’t always look like sadness—it often shows up as numbness, burnout, loss of motivation, or disconnection from yourself and others. I help clients explore the root patterns behind their emotional shutdown, understand the roles that stress, identity, and unmet needs play, and create structured steps toward change. Therapy with me is not about endless venting—it’s about restoring movement, building clarity, and helping you reconnect with yourself and your direction in life. You don’t have to stay stuck.

Depression is the common cold of psychology. Like anxiety and stress, depression is quite commonly reported by consumers of psychotherapy. I am experienced, comfortable, and patient with treating depression. I am neither strongly opposed nor strongly supportive of pharmacotherapeutics. I engage an approach that is personal-growth-centered and as independent of the medical model as is possible.

Many people think depression is about not doing enough or being uncommitted to their goals, however, people who struggle with depression are facing the problem of being over-committed to their goals and failing. When I work with clients dealing with depression the goal is to manage goals and expectations and work on creating small changes that build momentum to larger changes.

Research has clearly demonstrated that mindfulness-based approaches to depression are so powerful that they can reduce the chances of having a relapse by 50%! That's a big deal. A depressed mind is busy creating all kinds of negative thoughts. Mindfulness-based therapy will teach you a new way to relate to your thoughts. You don't have to believe everything you think! Especially the bad stuff, becuse it's often not true.

I view depression as a protective response that often develops when the nervous system has been overwhelmed by trauma or prolonged stress. Rather than seeing it as weakness, I help clients understand depression as the body’s way of conserving energy and guarding against pain. Through a trauma-informed and attachment-based approach, we explore the emotions and experiences beneath the shutdown, using somatic awareness, mindfulness, and gentle reconnection to restore safety and vitality. Over time, clients begin to experience relief, self-compassion, and renewed connection with themselves and their lives.

Depending is often the result of negative thoughts and beliefs about yourself and your life. One gets trapped in a downward spiral that drains the life force out of you. Past experiences and actions may continue to haunt you. The beliefs about oneself can be difficult to fight. My approach is not to cheer lead you to fight them and be strong but to go deeper and challenge the very truth of what you are believing about yourself. Accepting ones weakness and vulnerability without being controlled by them can be hard but it is ultimately the way up to a more integrated and fulfilling life.

It is so hard to understand depression. However, once you do understand it, it becomes a highly treatable state. I hope that we will together pinpoint the life problems that contribute to your depression and find which aspects of those problems can be solved or improved. Identify negative or distorted thought patterns you might have, and develop your skills that will help you fight the depression.

Everyone's depression is different - uncovering the root causes of a client's depression is critical and determines which form of therapy is best. I integrate multiple therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to hep clients improve. I also have experience working with Bipolar disorder.