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.

Depression can be experienced in a magnitude of ways and is often experienced differently by each individual. Symptoms may range from feeling increasingly irritable, experiencing a sense of emptiness and hopelessness, and an individual often will feel completely overwhelmed, losing interest in activities they once enjoyed. Depression may also be experienced physically. Physical symptoms may include, but are not limited to a lack of energy, problems sleeping, pronounced weight changes, and eventually, even serious illness. In cases of mild to moderate depression, there is an increasing amount of research supporting counselling as effective as medication in improving a person’s mood. Many clients have been referred to counselling by their family doctor when...(view profile to read more)

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.

Depression is very common amongst a lot of people. Most of us go through various ups and downs in our life, and sometimes we need a little help getting through a down period. When a client is depressed, similar to when a client is angry, I would help them in determining the root cause of the depression as it is critical for treatment planning. Once determined, we would discuss a treatment plan together that is realistically attainable. I would empower my client to recognize their strengths and abilities to manage their depression, such as looking at similar situations from their past that they have managed successfully.

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.

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

Therapy with me offers a grounded, compassionate space to explore your experience of depression without shame or pressure. Together, we'll gently untangle the weight you've been carrying, reconnect with your strengths and build tools for navigation daily life. Whether your depression feels like numbness, sadness, or exhaustion, you don't have to face it alone. Our work will focus on hope through relationship, creating space for change, and helping you feel more life yourself again--bit by bit.

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.

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.

Grey Matters International, Inc. and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, Ph.D. handles depression and other emotional disorders in a very unique way. Most of therapy or counseling processes utilize validation, unconditional positive regard, and reframing as common techniques to get someone to heal from their depression. Though this can be helpful, it rarely fixes the core problem behind it and for tough cases we then refer them usually to a psychiatrist for medication which can have tons of side effects. Instead, why not try a natural and arguably more effective way to not just change your mind, but change the brain--where the depression is rooted. Contact us at kevin@kevinflemingphd.com.