Depression Therapy for Vancouver Island, Southern Ontario, and Halifax.

What is depression?

If you find yourself constantly battling your way out of bed in the mornings, feeling as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders, you are not alone. Depression is one of the most common human experiences, and yet it can also feel like one of the loneliest. You may feel constantly tired and disconnected from those around you, yet simultaneously be unable to sleep and constantly crave connection. You may find yourself without an appetite, yet binging on sugary foods late at night. You may have considered some life goals, but feel like you have no energy to even know where to begin with them. Life can feel like a constant, exhausting paradox. This seemingly never-ending cycle can leave you feeling unmotivated and hopeless, possibly to the point of considering suicide. 

While you may not be able to change the circumstances that led to you feeling this way, it is what you do next that matters. I am here to help you find the glimmers of hope in even the darkest crevices of your mind. If you are exhausted and ready for a change, click the link below to start healing.

I had a black dog, his name was depression | World Health Organization

Does this sound familiar? Check out this video from the World Health Organization to learn more about what depression feels like.

Benefits of Depression Therapy

  • Feel reinvigorated.

    Increase your energy levels, up your motivation, get better sleep, have more mental alertness, and reinstate your sex drive.

  • Know what to do.

    Learn sustainable coping skills for managing emotions in everyday life. Build skills to manage day-to-day tasks sustainably & effectively.

  • Feel better about you.

    Increase your self-confidence, understand your triggers, and heal the underlying issues that keep you stuck in depression.

  • Find more joy everyday.

    Experience more calm, learn how to naturally find more positives day to day, improve your relationships, and regain a sense of control in your life.

How Depression Therapy Works

While it may seem unbelievable now, therapy can help you overcome depression. At Illuminate Therapy, I treat depression in two layers. The first is to help you regain a sense of control over your life. We will work on developing skills to manage your daily symptoms so that you can have the energy to live life the way you want, not the way depression dictates. The second layer helps us to discover and heal the underlying causes of depression for you. This helps us ensure that clinical depression won’t keep coming back for you in the long run. In doing this, I may draw from a number of therapies including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Solution Focused Therapy, and EMDR Therapy. Most importantly, know that we are walking this journey together. You are not alone - I will be there to guide and support you every step of the way.

FAQs

  • The choice to take medication for depression is a deeply personal one. Ultimately, it is up to you and your family doctor to determine whether medication is right for you. While medication can be a helpful tool for some in order to start the healing process, it is often not enough by itself to truly address the underlying causes of depression. Believe it or not, it is even possible to get your life back on track without any medication at all. For most people, working with a skilled therapist can be enough to help you reach your goals.

  • This is one of the biggest benefits of virtual therapy, as one of the most important parts of therapy is just showing up. While it is true that therapy requires a time commitment, just getting yourself to session is considered a big win in and of itself. Luckily, virtual therapy requires minimal effort in order to attend appointments. You can show up to session from the comfort of your own home, with a warm fuzzy blanket and comfortable PJs on. So, even if you only have just enough energy to log onto the computer that day, you can feel proud of the fact that you did just that. Once you’re in session, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that we can tackle what’s going on for you that day, together.

  • In the first session, I will spend time getting to know you. I will ask you about your history with depression, what it is like in present day, who the important people in your life are, and what your day-to-day life looks like. We will also set goals for therapy. You will have the opportunity to ask me questions about myself, and/or the therapy process overall. If there is something you are not quite ready to talk about in the first session, don’t worry. I know I am still a stranger to you and trust building takes time! I will never pressure you to talk about something before you are ready.

  • I know that you are suffering. If I was able to give you a concrete timeline for how long it will take to feel relief, I would do just that. Unfortunately, the therapy process is highly variable due to the individual nature of treatment. How long therapy will take depends on the nature of what’s causing your depression, your commitment to attending sessions, and how often you are able to get to therapy. The only thing I do know for certain is that, with enough dedication to the process, you will feel better eventually. The sooner you start, the sooner that time will come.