What Exactly Is Depression Counselling and Therapy All About?

Depression is a chronic clinical condition that has a detrimental impact on one’s well-being, thoughts and behaviour. Depression treatment is a specialised form of treatment for depression by providing the individual with the knowledge, strategies, and therapeutic interventions to overcome the disorder. In this article, we will strive to explain what depression counselling and therapy involve.

Depression Counselling

Depression counselling is mostly a way of discussing with a professional counsellor so as to get help in dealing with the condition. A counsellor offers an environment where one is free to share their problems without preconceptions being placed on them.

They let the client talk without judging, analyse negative thoughts and behaviours that contribute to depression, and then assist the client in adopting positive ways of dealing with depression. Counselling prepares an individual with strategies and ways of managing problems that they may encounter.

Seeking the services of a good psychologist for depression makes a lot of sense in that one will be dealing with a specialist with ample knowledge of the various effective therapies. The best psychologist in Gurgaon, India assesses the patient, accepts or rejects the diagnosis, and offers the best treatment that fits the patient.

Therapy for Depression

Like counselling, therapies are also an important aspect of treating depression. Therapy affords a client an opportunity to share with the counsellor about the challenges they are going through under the watchful eye of a qualified counsellor. The most evidence-based therapies include:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Assists in the following depressive, negative cognition patterns and behaviours that include negative self-talk.
• Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): Aimed at enhancing both one’s interaction with others and the quality of these relationships to decrease the experience of depression.
• Psychodynamic Therapy: Discusses how the early life and the patients’ inner ideas affect the present behaviour and states of mind.
• Group Therapy: Bring people experiencing similar challenges together to discuss ideas to adopt from each other.
• Creative Arts Therapy: Turning to arts such as painting, singing, and acting by applying drama therapy to support and encourage expression and recovery.

Under What Circumstances is Therapy/Counselling Useful for the Condition of Depression?

Depression is best dealt with under the professional care of the best psychologist in Gurgaon, India if the symptoms have lasted for over two weeks and are affecting function. A counsellor or therapist must be consulted immediately if one experiences:

• Suicidal thoughts
• Main symptoms of this disorder like the inability to perform daily tasks
• Withdrawing from family/friends
• A lack of energy, tiredness, listlessness, forgetfulness
• Psychologically, hopelessness, guilt and worthlessness
• Lack of sleep or sleeping too much
• Appetite/weight changes

Depression Counselling & Therapy – What Can You Expect During Your Sessions?

• Initial consultation: The counsellor/therapist conducts an assessment by determining the physical health status of the client and the client’s past and present mental health issues and concerns. It leads them to give a correct diagnosis of the patient and determine the most appropriate course of action to be taken.
• Ongoing sessions: It is an individual exercise where the professional listens, gives feedback, and sets tasks to be done between the sessions that also relate to the identified goals, such as coping skills development, thought/changing patterns, relationships, etc. Therapists help clients develop ways to take care of themselves besides being in therapy to use in between sessions.
• Evaluation: It is important that progress is constantly assessed and that plans for the treatment of Psoriasis are modified. The process of therapy is ongoing until the client demonstrates a considerable reduction of symptoms as well as the overall enhancement of the quality of life.
• Aftercare planning: In order to avoid the patient’s relapse, the therapist comes up with an aftercare plan before ending continuous treatment. This also involves advice on how to handle relapse signs, where to seek help in cases of relapse, and other necessary suggestions for further treatment if needed.

Marriage Counselling for Depression

Spouses who receive a depression diagnosis require marriage counselling in order to solve the existing relationship issues. Marital distress may be seen in decreased levels of communication, affection, conflict resolution and other parameters in depression.

A counsellor helps the participants to talk in order to gain a deeper insight and recognition of the feelings and emotions of the other person. They provide marriage counselling lessons on how to cultivate positive feelings, handle conflicts preferably, enhance connectedness and cope with depression.

Conclusion

Depression counselling and therapy entail the use of professionals in the mental health niche who offer interventions developed to meet the specific needs of the clients. If combined with other strategies for managing the condition and the use of antidepressants if necessary, therapy has proven to be a great way of treating depression.

About Author

Dr. Dipti Yadav: The author is a psychologist with over many years of experience working with adolescents and adults on depression, anxiety, loss and trauma and other disorders. These are some of the therapeutic approaches that she combines to include cognitive/behavioural, psychodynamic, and mindfulness-based therapies.