Depression Counseling in Santa Ana, CA.

Depression takes away your ability to feel joy in life. But with the right help you can overcome it. I use Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help you understand your emotions and take concrete actions to change how you feel. It's not easy, but it is an evidenced based therapy that can offer you a chance to feel joy. Understanding how you can change your mood in positive ways can help you find joy again. I can help you do that.

It can often seem like society expects us to be happy and positive at all times, that any admission of sadness or a loss of motivation, energy, or engagement with life is a personal failure. But Depression isn't a personal failure, and it is also more than just "feeling sad". If you find yourself down in the hole of disconnection, surrounded by a fog that is interfering with your life and relationships, you need a hand to help you climb out. A trained therapist understands the mechanics of depression and can help you understand it and find strategies to make your way up and out of it, and back into the light. Please contact me so we can begin to work on this process together.

Are you feeling sad? Hopeless? Worthless? Are you struggling to find motivation? How about the energy needed to connect with friends? Or are you feeling isolated? All of these (and more) are very common symptoms of depression. As your therapist, I will use CBT therapy to improve your quality of life. I love using CBT for depression because it makes common sense. We learn to notice those negative thoughts. Then we learn together which thoughts are hurting you and causing you to feel emotional pain. Lastly, we work together to change and replace those thoughts with something better. It's not a magical cure, but this is a long-standing and proven technique for depression and I find it helpful!

When struggling with depressed moods, everything feels heavy and you lack a sense of meaning and purpose. Even the most simple tasks can feel impossible. If you find yourself turning to alcohol, substances, or other addictive behaviours to cope with depressed moods, there is a way out. I help clients with addictions overcome the depressed moods causing them to turn to substances or addictive behaviours to cope. Everyone is different, so I work with you to develop a plan that fits your unique situation. If you are unsure where to start, send me a message. If I'm not the right fit, I can connect you to resources that will allow you to start getting help today, without having to wait.

When you’re depressed it makes life feel like you’re walking through mud, everything is more difficult and tiring and you feel less motivated to do anything. This can make depression incredibly difficult to deal with because it requires taking action to overcome. I have personal and professional experience in recovery from this unpleasant disorder, which gives me an edge and helping people to heal from depression.

Working with the experience of depression is much more than changing our thoughts to change our behavior. Our brains are wired to notice the negative; it's part of our survival. I support my clients in expanding what they notice, and help them discover what works for them by creating a tool kit through experiential relational interventions in session. When I see children, I utilize play therapy as the modality, including Child Centered Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, and Prescriptive Play Therapy. When working with adolescents and adults, I utilize expressive arts, DBT, CBT and Narrative Therapy.