Depression Treatment

Depression Can Rob You Of Hope And Happiness. Therapy For Depression Can Help You Start To Enjoy Life Again.

Have you lost interest in the things you used to enjoy?

Perhaps it’s becoming harder to feel hopeful or optimistic.

Do you find that you tend to beat yourself up, or talk negatively about yourself?

Perhaps you’ve noticed yourself slowly isolating from others. These are all common characteristics of depression, and you are not alone in this.

Depression Effecting Relationships

When you’re struggling with depression, it can have an effect on your relationships. You may find yourself withdrawing from family, friends, or significant other. Depression may cause you to feel misunderstood. You may feel guilty for feeling depressed, and that can cause you to want to isolate even more. Therapy for depression addresses the many symptoms that can be related to depression, and helps to navigate the challenges it may add to interpersonal relationships.

More Adults Are Experiencing Depression

Woman sits below mountains by a lake thinking about depression and if therapy will help at High Rockies Counseling

With the added stress of COVID-19 and changes in our world, more adults have been diagnosed with depression. When stress is increased, whether it is due to the pandemic or other reasons, depressive symptoms can begin to show up more. These symptoms can cause difficulties with sleep, loss of motivation, and feeling hopeless about the future.

Anxiety and Depression

It is common that one may experience symptoms of anxiety along with depression. While the depressive symptoms may be more severe or pronounced, one can have symptoms of anxiety with the depression. These symptoms of anxiety can look like worrying excessively, becoming easily overstimulated with noise or stressors, fearing that others may be judging you, or having panic attacks. Depression treatment may involve screening for any additional symptoms of anxiety.

What To Expect In Therapy For Depression

Therapy for depression uses evidenced-based theories to provide strategies, techniques, and interventions to treat depression. In your first session, we will honor wherever you are in your struggle with depression and provide compassionate support. Depression is not always something you can “fix” on your own, and we understand the value in having someone to help guide you out of the depression. We will ask you questions to better understand your depression and how it’s affecting your life. From there, we will work on establishing relevant goals that you are able to work on outside of our therapy sessions.

Here are some of the common methods we use for depression treatment:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is an effective method for treating depression as it uncovers the deeper thoughts and beliefs about yourself and your circumstances. Often times, we may have automatic thoughts about ourselves that we don’t realize are there. Thoughts such as, “I can’t do this, I’m a failure, nobody likes me, or I’m not good enough” can be playing over and over again in our minds without us realizing it. CBT works by first identifying these unhelpful thoughts, and then modifying them to produce more positive emotions and behaviors.

Mindful Self-Compassion

Mindful self-compassion uses a combination of mindful awareness and compassion for oneself to alleviate symptoms of depression. In therapy for depression, we will teach you how to become more compassionate towards yourself as we work to change those negative beliefs that are contributing to your symptoms.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a type of therapy that is a scientifically validated treatment approach to trauma and PTSD. EMDR therapy may help depression as it can target traumatic experiences that are underlying the symptoms of depression. EMDR therapy can help by removing potential “blocks” in your mind that are keeping you from moving forward toward more positive beliefs about yourself.

Man in a yellow sweater stands at the top peak of a mountain overlooking the ocean wondering if depression therapy is his next decision

Common Concerns or Questions About Therapy for Depression

You may have some concerns or reservations about therapy for depression. Here are some answers that may help.

Will Depression Ever Go Away?

While it is impossible to guarantee that your depression will be “cured” with therapy, there is hope that depression symptoms may lessen and become more manageable. As humans, it is common for us to experience ups and downs, even in the span of just one day! Therapy for depression helps by teaching you how to manage depressive symptoms while we work on lessening the distressing symptoms of depression. Everyone is different, and for some, they may say that therapy or other methods cured their depression. We believe that many things are possible and our overall goal is to help bring improvements, whether big or small, to your experience with depression.

Do I Have To Take Depression Medication?

For some people, depression medication is a helpful option to assist in treating certain types of depression. We cannot prescribe medication, but we can work with your prescriber to help you learn about your medication and monitor your experience with medication. There are many options for treating depression that do not involve medication and we are happy to discuss your personal needs in our sessions.

How Much Does Depression Therapy Cost?

Costs for depression therapy can range anywhere from $100-$200 per session. Our out-of-pocket fee is $125 for a 50-60-minute session. Therapy is an investment in yourself, your future, and your relationships. Depression can rob you of your time, physical, and emotional energy. If you are able to get some of that back by investing in therapy for depression, it may be well worth it.

Woman floats in a white kayak after going to depression therapy and being helped to find her joy

Curious If Depression Therapy Can Help?

In depression therapy, we believe in approaching your problems with empathy, validation, and zero judgment. The first step to feeling better from depression is acknowledging and accepting difficult feelings and emotions. Once you understand what you’re feeling, we can help create solutions that work for you specifically to feel better. Counseling for depression is an effective, long-term solution to treating depression and getting you back to enjoying life. Please click the Contact button or “Request Appointment” to schedule a free, 15-minute consultation to take the next step to begin therapy for depression.

FAQs about Depression and Therapy

  • It's normal to have ups and downs, but depression is more than feeling sad. If you've been feeling persistently low, unmotivated, irritable, tired, or hopeless for more than two weeks—and it's affecting your daily life—it could be depression. A therapist can help you figure that out and talk through what you're experiencing without judgment.

  • Depression can be caused by a mix of different things—life stress, trauma, loss, genetics, hormonal changes, or even chronic stress or burnout. It’s rarely just one thing. Therapy helps explore what’s contributing to it in your unique situation.

  • Yes. Therapy is one of the most effective treatments for depression. It helps you understand the patterns behind your thoughts and feelings, process difficult emotions or events, and learn tools to feel better. You're not meant to do it alone.

  • Several approaches work well. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is common—it focuses on shifting negative thought patterns. EMDR can be helpful when trauma is involved. Mindfulness-based therapies, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and person-centered therapy can also be effective. We have therapists that offer different types of therapy to address depression.

  • Everyone is different. Some people feel relief in a few sessions, others take longer. A lot depends on how deep the depression is, how long it's been going on, and what you're facing in your life. You don’t need to have it all figured out to start.

  • Not necessarily. Many people improve with therapy alone. Others benefit from a combination of therapy and medication. That decision is personal and can be discussed with a doctor or psychiatrist. Your therapist can help you weigh the options.

  • That’s actually really common with depression. Even reaching out for help can feel exhausting. If you're here reading this, you've already taken a big first step. Therapy meets you where you're at—even if all you can do is show up.

  • No. Therapy goes at your pace. You’re in control of what you talk about. A good therapist creates a safe, respectful space and works with you—not pushes you. While some information may need to be discussed initially to help the therapist understand you more, you will never be pushed to talk about things you're not ready to discuss.

  • Yes. What you share in therapy stays private, with a few legal exceptions (like if someone is in danger). Your therapist can explain confidentiality fully in your first session so you know what to expect.

  • Sometimes it takes a few tries to find the right fit or approach. Your experience is valid. A new therapist might offer a different perspective, style, or technique that resonates more deeply.