Depression & Mood Therapy in Danbury, CT

Struggling with low mood and depression can be incredibly frustrating. It can prevent you from working towards goals, connecting with loved ones, and caring for yourself. The basic daily tasks can become so daunting that entertaining larger challenges can seem impossible. Although the experience of depression may be similar for different people, its causes and development vary greatly and are necessary to explore in order to map out a path toward wellness.

Depression treatment will start with outlining the presentation of your symptoms overtime. When we are able to identify what triggers or wounds have caused depressive symptoms, we can then treat the unmet need that sustains the low mood. 

For example, in our early teen years it is common to feel some isolation from family as we become more independent, and we can also notice lowered confidence that depletes energy. If you grew up in a critical environment, then you might have noticed a decreased motivation to engage in interests or explore new hobbies. If you have built a life chasing after the goalposts set up by society or loved ones rather than by your own ambitions and fulfillment seeking, you may feel persistent apathy and irritability. 

To explore what triggers and depressive responses you have experienced we will use a combination of compassionate inquiry, Cognitive-Behavioral analysis, and the Internal Family Systems model to build an understanding of who you are and how you have become. We will also spend time getting to know each other while building comfort and trust, so that sharing your story feels less clinical and more friendly. In other words, we will be creating a sense of emotional safety in our therapy sessions. There is no room for judgment in our sessions, and want you to feel safe being fully seen. 

Once we have processed the symptoms causes and development,  then we will turn to exploring how the depressive responses may have been protective. Our brain is highly efficient, and it will reuse patterns that have been effective in the past at keeping us alive, even if it is at the expense of our wellness. Fear often leads us to rely on coping mechanisms that may have served a purpose in the past but are no longer beneficial. Our brains are wired to prioritize survival over happiness, which can sometimes lead to outdated coping strategies. If you grew up with high stress or conflict, disconnecting from your lived experience, or dissociating, may have been effective at allowing you to survive that time. However, it can also lead to apathy, disconnection from joy, and difficulty engaging in the present.

Developing awareness about what's been happening and its function is crucial before diving into self-compassion and growth. When we're calm, our capacity to learn and adapt improves significantly. If our inner critic dominates, it can trigger our fear response, hindering our ability to make healthy decisions and impeding growth.

Self-compassion requires acceptance of our history and current status, and  choosing to nurture and be kind to ourselves, which is essential for healing. By practicing mindfulness and exploring current self-care practices, we can redirect our attention away from fear-driven responses toward more constructive ways of thinking and acting.

That is the gist. We will get to know each other, explore how you have responded to the hand life has dealt you, why those patterns have stuck around, and identify what you need in order to let them go and build the life you want.