Counselling for Depression

IS THERE ANY POINT?

Yes, there is every reason to talk to a counsellor when you experience Depression. Although when in the grip of Depression a person is least likely to seek help. When depressed there is very little motivation to engage with life. At my counselling practice in Heathfield I see far more people for anxiety disorders like OCD, Health or Panic Anxiety, than I do for Depression, because the question, what’s the point of seeking help, is part of the depressed mindset. Behind that question lies a statement, a belief that there is no point in being or doing anything, that there is no help to be found within or in others.  This belief is so entrenched and automatic it is highly demotivating and very sadly, it stops people from seeking help. 

I find that helping people to recover from Depression is one of the most rewarding aspects of my counselling practice. Not least because when a depressed person seeks help they have often  attempted suicide or have been self-harming in some covert or overt way. This group are at risk of those outcomes in the future. The stakes are high and helping someone in their process from Depression to a position where life starts to have meaning and purpose and the self is seen as at least as worthy as everyone else, is obviously a deeply rewarding journey for the therapist as well as the client. 

Research indicates that anti-depressant medication with therapy yields better outcomes than therapy alone if Depression is severe, but if it is mild or moderate then medication doesn’t improve outcomes over therapy alone.

Here is an ex-client’s story, she has resolved her longstanding Depression  and when she left therapy she gave her permission for me to write about her if it would help others. I have anonymised this account and changed some details to ensure her privacy.

Towards the end of her therapy she told me that she wished she had sought help earlier. She thought it could have saved her from years of recurring bouts of Depression .She had had so much self-doubt, she spoke of a deep sense of being worthless and inferior, no matter what she achieved. There were broken relationships, shallow friendships, strong feelings of loneliness and often she was in despair. She never tried to commit suicide but she thought about it often. She told me that she hid it all from most people. It took her years to finally seek therapy. She said that she felt she was forced into it for the sake of her children who she loved far more than she valued herself. She was so close to suicide, but the thought of what that would do to her children, stopped her and she reluctantly sought help but she was very clear at the beginning that she did not think anything or anyone, could help her.

It is often the case that depressed people seek therapy for someone else’s benefit. There is a way to recovery from this most life-limiting and debilitating mindset. Which is not to say that it is easy. We know that there are genetic as well as environmental causes for Depression. There are numerous genetic mutations that seem to be involved but that does not mean that recovery is impossible. In my view the environmental factors far outweigh the genetic determinants which describe a predisposition to Depression rather than being directly causal.

Try to find a counsellor with whom you can feel at ease and able to talk. Preferably one that is well qualified and accredited by a recognised institution. It’s an indication that they are likely to have been through a counselling/psychotherapy process themselves, and to have learned enough theory to be a competent practitioner, and through that demanding training, they will know what it is like to sit in your chair.  

There are many different therapeutic approaches for Depression. NICE recommends Interpersonal Therapy and CBT. Some approaches will suit you more than others, some therapists will help you more than others, no matter which approach is used. In the end I believe it’s the experience of a thoughtful and non-judgemental relationship, focussed on your inner world, that you develop with your therapist, which facilitates the healing process.  When depressed there is no personal vision or aspiration for your future in your mind, however, you can reclaim your future, one that you fashion according to your values and needs. We all need hope in our lives and to find the inner resources to develop the life that we see as truly worth living.