Depression is a wide-ranging term with an equally wide-ranging list of symptoms. You can of course be diagnosed with clinical depression by your GP, and this may give you access to medications and NHS therapies.
Medication can be very effective and should never be seen as a failure. It can help me as a therapist because a client on medication can be easier to help. I always advise clients with depression that they go their GP and follow any instructions given, and also that they tell their GP they are seeing a therapist. There have been times when I have suspended therapy with a client for a few months at the request of their GP.
But sometimes the medication either doesn’t work or makes you feel a lot worse.
And what happens when you want to stop taking the pills?
Getting quality therapy really will help you take some small but increasingly positive steps to a happier you.
Depression is a very individual and personal illness. My aim will be to work with you and take you into strategies that are designed specifically for you. There is no magic wand with depression, we must fight a lot of small battles in order to win the war. But each victory, no matter how small is actually HUGE because each victory is a step closer.
As such, because of the time factor, my approach to depression is more complex than my standard approach, as a client you may well need my support over a longer period of time. But for anyone who has been through depression, this time is very precious, because it can help you escape the black hole you may be stuck in.
Back in 1998, I had depression. I know how awful it is, I know how it can make you push away loved ones and lead you down a dark path. I remember the day my recovery began and I cherish that memory. It was actually a Billy Connolly video that sparked it off because I laughed for the first time in ages.