Psychotherapist/Life Coach
You Can Let Go
of Your Depression!
For information about what Depression is, the Symptoms of Depression,
the Causes of Depression, Types of Depression, and some Effective Ways to Manage your Depression, please go to the Depression Information webpage. If you're looking to see how Depressed you are, you can take the Depression Test here.
Please click on the "o" in front of the topic you would like to learn more about.
What is Depression?
A Medical Model Definition
Where Depression Comes From
Forms of Treatment for Depression
Medical Model forms of Treatment
Psychiatric forms of Treatment
How I Will Help You Release Your Depression
What is Depression?
To effectively treat Depression you would think that one would have to know what causes it. The Medical Model admits that they are not sure what causes Depression but they pride themselves on being the forerunners of how to treat it.
The Medical Model's explanation for Depression:
This model focuses more on genetics and the physical effects and symptoms of depression. According to the medical model, Depression is a medical illness that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest (and other symptoms – see Depression Information).
The medical model goes on to say that "Depression is a chronic illness that usually requires long-term treatment, like diabetes or high blood pressure. But, they say, "don't get discouraged". Most people with depression feel better with medication, psychological counseling (meaning conventional talk therapy) or other more extreme forms of treatment."
So, the medical model says pretty much, "Don't worry, you're going to have the "illness" pretty much for the rest of your life, but you can "manage" it with "medication, talk therapy, or other, more extreme forms of treatment" (see “other medical model forms of treatment" below).
Psychological Reasoning for depression:
Did you know that depression, for the most part, is anger turned inward towards yourself? If you are depressed l'll bet that you "beat yourself up" mentally, continually giving yourself negative self-talk, being self-critical, thinking negatively about yourself and your place in the world. Also, my guess would be that there may be some perfectionism and/or people pleasing involved, along with anxiety of some sort.
If you are in therapy for depression and are finding ways to RELEASE these continual negatives thoughts and finding ways to bring in more positive thoughts, then your therapy is productive. If you are not finding ways to release these negative thoughts permanently, then you should probably move on to get therapy from someone who knows how to help you do just that.
Here’s how it works:
It all comes from an accumulation of our stress, distress and trauma we experienced during our younger years and how we learned how to cope with this information. Most of us, for one reason or another, learn how to repress this more traumatic material and continue to repress negative feelings in our lives until we can’t repress them anymore and these thoughts and feelings start affecting us in very physical ways, like Depression. And when I say “traumatic material”, I don’t define trauma as major accidents or occurrences. The day to day living in a stressful home situation can traumatize us slowly over time. (See Stress Causes Most Problems.)
Where Depression comes from:
The Behavioral Process
(according to the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy equation)
Our thoughts/beliefs = our feelings = our behaviors
so,
Positive thoughts/belief = positive feelings = positive behaviors
Negative thoughts/beliefs = negative feelings = negative behaviors
Therefore, our thoughts/beliefs = our reality
and
All of our negative thoughts/beliefs come from
some kind of Stress, Distress or Trauma in our lives,
either real or perceived
So, the way to Let Go of Your Depression is to RELEASE the negative, stressful and/or traumatic events that are "stuck" in your psyche (and body) so that you will be able to have more positive thoughts and feelings which will end up in more positive experiences (i.e., feeling lighter, happier, more interested in life in general, etc.). The Therapeutic Methods I use help you to do just that.
[Back to top]
Forms of Treatment for Depression
The Traditional, Established Treatments for Depression
The Medical Model
Medication
The most common form of "Treatment" for Depression is medication. Doctors are dispensing them to people who complain to them of feelings of depression, anxiety, etc. And, rightfully so if these people are suffering from their symptoms. However, the problem lies in the thinking that this is the end of Treatment for Depression. Medication only relieves the symptoms, it does not at all get to and/or RELEASE the unresolved Psychological and Emotional issues that are the major factors in causing the Depression. More and more medical doctors are not referring their patients to Psychotherapy as was once common practice way back when.
The best traditional treatment for depression has been a combination of antidepressant medication and therapy - either Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Interpersonal Relationship Therapy (IPT).
And, even though this combination is currently considered the best Treatment for Depression by the mainstream establishment, there is also a range of natural and other Alternative Therapeutic Methods that many people have found very useful in speeding up the Treatment for their Depression. Those alternative therapeutic methods are listed below.
Other Medical Treatments for Depression
for Severe Depression not able to be otherwise Treated
Please notice that all of the following Medical Model treatments for Depression are geared to those that are diagnosed as having a type of Severe Depression that any and all other treatments and methods for treating Depression have failed, making all of these treatments last ditch efforts to let go of Depression! And, please also notice that they all involve having some kind of electrodes placed in or on your body to create electrical stimulation to the brain. These rather extreme medical treatments are:
- Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT)
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
- Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (RTMS)
- Deep Brain Stimulation
_______________________
Psychological Treatment
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (C.B.T.) does not necessarily aim to solve every problem in your life. Instead, C.B.T. aims to teach you the skills so you can better solve your own problems now, and in to the future. C.B.T. focuses mostly on the "here and now", and particularly on the way you think about things (including your attitudes and beliefs).
Cognitive behavior therapy works by helping you identify where your thoughts (and actions) are unhelpful and self-defeating. Once aware of these issues, a cognitive behavior therapist will help you to replace these negative thoughts and "bad habits" with more helpful thoughts and more constructive behaviors. There are various strategies for achieving this, including asking for feedback from other people and weighing up the pros and cons of different options.
C.B.T. is a collaborative process based on understanding, empathy, support and most importantly, a strong belief that you can change – for the better.
By focusing on thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors C.B.T. has been proven to be the most effective intervention for problems such as depression, anxiety, panic, stress, insomnia, relationship difficulties and even coping with chronic illness (such as pain). Much can be achieved with C.B.T. including feeling really great about life, instead of just okay.
Role of Psychotherapy
The generally accepted preferred treatment for depression is a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. While in the above discussion, the focus has been on issues relating to antidepressant medication, psychotherapy plays an important role in treating depression.
Professor Keller presented the following important research results comparing:
Medication alone – 50% experience elimination of symptoms in 10 weeks
Therapy alone – 50% experience elimination of symptoms in 10 weeks
Medication + Therapy – 85% experience elimination of symptoms in 10 weeks
Note that the 'therapies' used in this study were Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Relationship Therapy – as appropriate for the particular person.
The role of therapy in ongoing maintenance was not investigated, but it does make sense to ensure that the skills and techniques we learn during the initial therapy be reinforced and continually practiced not only during treatment, but beyond and into our healthy lives!
The good news is: you can
Let Go of Your Depression!
You are not doomed to a lifetime of being Depressed
or a lifetime of managing your Depression!
How I Will Help You Let Go of Your Depression
Below is a list of some of the newer, more progressive therapies I use
that will Help you Release Your Depression
E.M.D.R. (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
E.M.D.R therapy is an integrative psychotherapy approach based on the bilateral stimulation of the brain and specific protocols to RELEASE trauma that gets "stuck" and stored in the deeper parts of the brain, which again, are out of the reach of the conscious mind and traditional talk therapy. It was discovered in 1987 and has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR has helped millions of people of all ages relieve many types of psychological stress.
___________________
Brainspotting is a brain-based therapeutic method that actually works with the deep brain and the body through its direct access to the autonomic and limbic systems and the body's central nervous system which are out of the reach of the conscious mind and traditional talk therapy. Brainspotting not only pinpoints where the traumatic material is being held in your system, it also "unfreezes" and RELEASES this traumatic material, RELEASING your negative thoughts, feelings & behaviors as well.
E.F.T. (Emotional Freedom Techniques - also called "Tapping"
Emotional Freedom Techniques (E.F.T.) is a kind of type of self-applied “acupuncture without the needles”. is a safe, non-invasive, subtle, yet powerful and rather miraculous new approach to help people live their lives in greater balance. IMT is a tool that is used in relation to enhancing performance, reducing stress, and relieving `dis‑ease'. It is especially useful for reducing fears and worry/anxiety, stress, anger, and depression, etc.
___________________
W.H.E.E. (Wholistic Hybrid of E.M.D.R. and E.F.T. - a combo)
W.H.E.E. is a method that is very easy and simple in it's application but also very powerful in it's effectiveness. It is a combination of E.M.D.R. and E.F.T., using the bilateral stimulation process of the E.M.D.R. and the positive affirmations of the E.F.T. process.When I first discovered this method I thought it was rather ingenious in it's simplicity combined with it's effectiveness. It is used to reduce/release anxiety, stress, anger, guilt, shame, depression, sadness, and even physical pain, etc.
___________________
___________________
I will help you:
- have confidence in your ability to express your thoughts, beliefs and feelings w/o apology
- learn how to no longer second-guess yourself
- develop healthy boundaries
- accept yourself instead of being so self-critical
- learn how to nurture yourself so you don’t have to get others to “fill you up”
- be able to make healthy decisions in your own best interest
- learn to relax and feel safer and more secure
- develop realistic goals/expectations of yourself
- develop flexibility and authenticity
- demonstrate multiple improvements in your performance on the job and at home
- increase your communication skills
- live a more balanced and happy life
GIVE ME A CALL!
I WILL HELP YOU
TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE!
(914) 391-4350
Accelerated Healing Solutions
Dave Dodge, L.C.S.W.
Psychotherapist and Peak Performance Coach
(914) 391-4350
