Depression Counseling in Occoquan, VA.

You did not choose to be depressed and it’s not something most people can simply “shake off.” Depression is real. It’s life altering and can trick you in to believing that you can never be happy again. I am here to help. I would be honored to walk with you as we challenge the narrative of your depression while acknowledging how incredibly hard and real it is. You are not alone, and hope can be the beginning to your own healing.

There are many varieties of depression, from the nearly universal experience of “blues” to soul-crushing, “can’t lift my head out of bed” depression. We help sort out the source of depression, which can include being emotionally “underfed”, to un-grieved losses, trauma experiences, biological disorders, family emotional inheritance, and a lack of connection with your inner source of guidance. After exploring the experience of depression, and the context of a client’s life, we collaboratively shape a plan of treatment, and carefully monitor progress. We coordinate with other care providers, such as physicians.

Depression is an emotional issue where a person feels down in mood for two or more weeks. Down mood includes: feelings of worthlessness, guilt, irritability, tearfulness, lack of interest, and lack of pleasure from usually enjoyable activities. Depression often involves repetitive negative thoughts about the self and may also include the loss of or increase in appetite as well as either excessive sleep or difficulty falling and staying asleep. Therapy can help you both manage and resolve issues that may be causing depression or Dysthymia.

Depression is a cloud over one's life. For those afflicted with depression, please understand you are not alone. You are not going out of your mind, and the black cloud can be lifted. As a depressed Christian, don't feel ashamed. A sad truth is that many Christians attach spiritual failure to depression. So, they suffer in silence, hoping, and praying for deliverance. For clients wishing to be treated without habit forming drugs, I can assist in finding a reprieve, through Bibliotherapeutic, and God's earthly grown methods. If it is determined that medication is required, I can provide a referral. With both methodologies in place, the mind, body, and soul can be successfully restored.

Simply finding the energy to search out options for a therapist shows your desire to get better. And that is something to hold on to as tightly as you can. In this day and age where we seem to only communicate through text messages and phone apps it becomes more difficult to allow ourselves to feel as well as heal. Working together we can process the challenges that are holding you down as well as work towards goals that can get you past these hurdles.

We all experience ups and downs in life. This is normal and pat of living life. However, depression is characterized by feelings that are much more intense, let longer, and interfere more intensely with day-to-day functioning and interaction with other people. It is a serious condition that can impact every aspect of your life. It can affect your family relationships, work relationship, and impact negatively on your sense of self worth. Depression is very treatable. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is our primary approach to treating depression and it has been proven to be effective for most forms of depression and even to prevent the occurrence of future depressive episodes.

Everyone experiences sadness, but depression is a heavier and more stagnant emotion that can isolate a person from life. Talk therapy is often not enough, and I use imagery, brainspotting and biofield tuning to help move the heaviness out of the body. There are ogifts in depression, and an essential part of the work is to discover those gifts.

When you experience a severely depressed mood and decreased activity level for an extended period of time, your life really changes. Hope disappears, joy drains from life, and you may feel isolated, alone, and stuck. Your efforts may fall behind in school or at work, and your relationships may feel strained. But change is possible! Although depression controls your current experience, it does not define who you most truly are. Counseling can help you break the chains of depression, and create a new experience which includes hope and a meaningful connection to life. To determine if we can work together, please contact me to schedule a FREE 15-minute phone consultation.

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.

Depression leaves you feeling disconnected, sad, and/or worthless. It robs your life of vitality and a sense of purpose. But you do not have to be depressed alone! Therapy is very effective in reducing the symptoms of depression, and it can also not just return you to a pre-depression "normal" but help you to reach a new and different, improved place. Psychoanalytic therapy has been shown to not just reduce symptoms, but to aid you in developing a more confident approach to your life that leaves you feeling like you're living a robust life.

Often times our circumstances in life can leave us feeling defeated and hopeless, sometimes even to the point of wondering if there is any point in moving forward. A big part of my approach to counseling is to help you discover your ability to create the life that you want, and to empower you to make the changes necessary to do so. I am so excited to walk with you as you discover your potential and become acquainted with the person you are meant to be.

Through counseling for depression, you can learn to identify and change feelings that have become entrenched in thought patterns and behaviors. Even though depression may feel like a dead end street, there is always a way out and up. Through therapy, I will assist you in making optimal choices to treat your depression. You will learn how to live your life to the fullest.

Depression can vary from a vague sense of unhappiness and disquiet to crippling experiences of hopelessness that feel as though they will swallow you completely. Regardless of how your depression is manifesting, you cannot work through it alone. I would be honored to help you grow and heal such that you experience hope, joy and peace again (or perhaps for the first time). You do not have to be stuck in the darkness of depression--our brains are built with the ability to heal, and I would love to help you experience that.