Depression

Mental Health Counselling for Depression in Wolverhampton and Online

Anybody can suffer from feeling a bit “down” following a sad event or when things just haven’t gone to plan, however, when you suffer from Depression you are likely to experience feelings of sadness for much longer, maybe for weeks, months or even longer.

On this Page:

• Symptoms of Depression
• Causes of Depression

Despite the widely held view that Depression is some sort of ‘chemical imbalance’ in the brain, the actual scientific evidence that supports this ‘hypothesis’ is very thin on the ground with many scientists questioning how this model has become so prevalent in today’s society.

This does not detract from the impact that feeling depressed might have on a persons life, but the suggestion that it is some sort of ‘brain disease’ is highly contentious and may contribute to the belief that it can only be overcome through the use of pharmaceutical interventions.

There is plenty of evidence that a person’s limiting beliefs and unhelpful thinking styles can go a long way to contributing to the state and experience of depression.

Because of this, Depression should be regarded as a real condition that can have a very serious impact on one’s life – sometimes the most serious of impacts, but also that it can be helped by learning how to manage unhelpful thinking styles.

The mind is MORE than capable of creating a wide range of REAL physical symptoms as well as being able to influence the neural make-up of the brain, both positively and negatively!

However, all in NOT lost.

The symptoms of Depression can often be effectively treated using skillfully applied Psychology & Psychotherapy principles.

Symptoms of Depression

If you experience some of these symptoms for most of the day, every day for more than a couple of weeks then you should seek help from your GP in the first instance.

• A continuous low mood or sadness
• Feeling hopeless or helpless
• Low self-esteem
• Tearfulness
• Irritability & Intolerance
• Lack of motivation
• Difficulty making a decision

The majority of sufferers CAN make a complete and lasting recovery when they obtain the right kind of help.

How do I know if I’m Depressed?

Depression can affect people in a wide variety of ways and produce a large number of different symptoms (see above) from feelings of sadness or hopelessness and a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy (including a loss of interest in sex) through to much more significant problems such as total withdrawal from society.

It can lead to physical symptoms too, for example persistent tiredness, lack of ability to sleep and various feelings of aches and pains.

At worst (although this is actually rarer than most people believe) this problem can lead to such feelings of helplessness that suicide can seem like a viable option.

Take the PHQ9 Depression

The PHQ9 test is used by mental health professional to determine if depression related feelings and thoughts are present.

You can take the test by clicking the link further down the page.

IF YOU HAVE SERIOUSLY THOUGHT ABOUT ENDING YOUR OWN LIFE THEN WE WOULD URGE YOU TO IMMEDIATELY TALK TO YOUR GP PRIOR TO CONSULTING US FOR HELP.

Causes of Depression

As with most psychological problems, specific causes can often be difficult to isolate. Evidence suggests that family histories of depression may lead to a higher chance of developing depressive moods later in life. Some suggest that there may be a genetic pre-disposition to depression, although the evidence is rather tenuous.

People who have experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse in their lives are often found to suffer from depression, but this is by no means always the case and many people suffering these kinds of trauma go on to lead perfectly normal and trouble free lives. This ability to ‘cope’ with trauma or adversity is known as ‘resilience‘.

Indeed, many people actually benefit from experiencing traumatic situations known as post-traumatic growth.

Transform Your Thinking & Overcome Depression

If you’re committed to overcoming your depression then we highly recommend following our Advanced Tranceformental CBT programme with Paul. Tranceformental CBT is available as Online Therapy if required.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic mental health counselling course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify how unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issue, and then show you how to make any changes to your unhelpful thinking styles or maladaptive safety behaviours that you may have developed as part of your coping strategies.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an evidence-based, research supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Alternative Therapy Options for Depression

Although our preferred form of mental health counselling for depression is Tranceformental CBT we also offer alternative psychotherapies for those who might prefer a different approach.

These include:

• Psychodynamic therapy which focuses more on emotional problems and relies on the Therapeutic Relationship to bring about change.
• General Counselling which is less structured but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment to discuss issues which is therapeutic in its own right.
• Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of therapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.