Depression

Depression is a serious mental illness that affects children and adults emotionally, mentally and physically. It is  characterized by feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, and loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. Depression can also affect the way you think, feel, and act, and can lead to problems in everyday life. 

Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:

• Feeling extreme sadness

• Loss of interest  in activities once enjoyed

• Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain 

• Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much

• Isolation or decreased socialization

• Loss of energy or increased fatigue

• Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)

• Feeling worthless or guilty

• Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions

• Thoughts of death or suicide

The first step to receiving the right treatment involves seeking a health care provider and mental health professional. Health care providers can provide exams to rule out other existing conditions and advise to seek counseling if diagnosed. Mental health counselors can help treat depression through psychotherapy, medications, or a combination of the two. 

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Positive Directions Approach to Depression:

At Positive Directions, we understand that Depression can feel debilitating. Our approach in working with clients to address their depressive symptoms is collaborative and client-driven, and we work to meet the client where they are at to tailor treatment to their individual circumstances. Upon admission, a comprehensive intake evaluation is completed to gather a history of the client and learn more about the symptoms they have been experiencing. This helps us to gather a comprehensive picture of the impact the clients’ symptoms have had on their lives and allows us to tailor our approach to the client’s needs. 

Starting with this information, we then develop an individualized treatment plan for each client that is tailored to their needs and goals. The treatment plan is the guide-post for the work we do in session, and progress toward treatment goals is evaluated and measured during each counseling session. Additionally, we periodically review this plan with our clients to ensure that we are consistently working toward and updating goals and objectives as appropriate.

Based upon the treatment plan, services are provided to address individual needs and teach clients the skills and tools necessary to gain insight and understanding, work to decrease depressive symptoms, and improve their overall quality of life.  Our counselors also work closely with family members as appropriate, educating them about depression and mental health, and supporting their involvement in their loved one’s treatment.

When providing these services, a variety of clinical techniques are utilized such as cognitive behavioral, motivational interviewing, solution-focused and dialectical behavioral tools. Our clinicians are trained in a variety of effective treatment modalities, and treatment is tailored to specific individual and family needs. Furthermore, our clinicians connect with outside providers as necessary, and are able to make appropriate referrals to additional providers should the need arise in order to collaborate and provide comprehensive treatment. Our approach is designed to assist people in improving the quality of their lives.

Resources:

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression