Depression Counselling in Maple Ridge, BC.

Depression is one of the most common mental health concerns today. Depression can take away your interest in life, make it difficult to get out of bed and can cause a cloud over your life. It is a difficult step to make the call to come for counselling, but the benefits can be great. With cognitive behavioral therapy, you can learn to control the thoughts that are contributing to your depression and give you the power over your depression. At West Coast Counselling, we take the time to understand you and your concerns and work with you to achieve your goals. Don't let depression take control of you.

Olivia is passionate about supporting individuals struggling with depression and the deep isolation it often brings. Using a cognitive behavioral therapy approach, she helps clients identify and understand the underlying causes of their depression, challenge negative thought patterns, and develop healthier perspectives. Olivia also provides practical, actionable steps to help clients re-engage with life, rebuild connections, and rediscover joy. With empathy and expertise, she creates a supportive space for clients to navigate their emotions, regain hope, and work toward meaningful change. Olivia’s goal is to empower her clients to move forward with resilience and a renewed sense of purpose.

Depression can be a debilitating mental health issue, but the good news is there are excellent therapies out there designed to help treat it! Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to be one of the most effective treatments in helping with depression. CBT is a shorter term and skills-based therapy intended to help individuals learn strategies to better manage their mood and improve the quality of their life. I'd be happy to discuss more about CBT for depression with you!

Many things in our lives can contribute to feelings of sadness, hopelessness, loneliness, isolation, and disconnection from the world around us. In our work together, aim to reduce the effects of social factors that contribute to depression, such as work or stress overload, demands of society, powerlessness in specific areas of your life, poverty, and racism, to name a few. In addition, we can explore coping strategies and learn about your nervous system that brings you into a freeze/depressed state. Regulating the nervous system and engaging in somatic and mindfulness practices is one of the approaches I tend to take.

I work with clients to manage symptoms of depression, which can be accompanied with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness that can create a negative valence around an individual’s daily functioning. A persistent feeling of sadness and doom can be accompanied with a loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable. While the causes of depression can be related to brain chemistry, genetics, stressful life events, and medical conditions, CBT can be effective in identifying the interactions between one’s thoughts, behaviours, emotions, and their environment. Healthy coping mechanisms such as eating healthy, exercise, adequate sleep, and managing stress levels can help combat depression

My approach is to work with you to understand all of the many layers of your life which may have caused your depression. Then we can collaboratively develop a plan for getting better, one step at a time. I use therapies such as CBT, ACT, and EMDR as needed to speed your recovery in collaboration with you. Most important is our therapeutic relationship and connection for change you can count on.

Depression is tricky. Depression causes a lowered mood, fatigue, and decreased motivation. Sometimes, Depression goes unnoticed by friends and family. It can appear like everything in your life should be fine, but inside, it's a struggle to get out of bed. I provide a non-judgmental space to explore the areas of your life impacted by depression. You will learn alternative coping mechanisms to help ease future symptoms of depression.

Depression is extremely complex - at times it can completely turn your life upside down and rob you of any joy or happiness that you previously felt. Yet other times it can also show up in more subtle ways throughout your life, almost unknowingly at first. Every person is different but one commonality with depression is that it can make you feel incredibly alone and self-deprecating. Isolation feeds depression and hinders our functioning. My aim is to create a compassionate relationship so that you don’t feel alone. I’ll offer empathy and kindness while we gently work as a team to find what works for you in your journey towards a healthier mind.

Depression can be experienced in a multitude of ways and often differently by each person. Depression can leave an individual feeling overwhelmed, a loss interested in activities that they used to enjoy, feel a lack of energy, have difficulty sleeping, experienced pronounced weight changes, and even serious illness. You do not have to suffer or feel alone. We will work with you to uncover the elements to your depression and help you to regain enjoyment and satisfaction in your life.

I hold space for clients to express their pain and sadness first and foremost; this can be an empowering and effective tool, especially for those who haven't had a chance to explore or express these feelings at all. I also work to empower my clients through building awareness of triggers and coping strategies and by exploring potential underlying causes which can help clients move forward in a deeper manner.

Do you experience low mood, irritability, feelings of hopelessness, changes in appetite and sleep? Depression can make it hard to enjoy the things we once looked forward to and can send us into a cycle that may feel difficult to break. In working with depression, the body-mind connection is beneficial to understand. I approach depression with compassion by facilitating learning about yourself and building meaningful ways that work best for you in approaching your concerns.