Depression

The Natural Depression Treatment Programme

A natural, practical, future-oriented, time-limited,  evidence-based treatment programme to stop the cycle of depression and provide you with skills and resources to keep you depression-free.

Natural – There is little evidence of depression being either a genetic condition or due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Anti-depressant medication has its place in treating depression in some cases – but drugs tend to treat the symptoms and not the causes; working with your GP to get you off medication, if you are on it, is a goal. Depression can be treated without resorting to chemicals but through an informed cognitive, behavioural and interpersonal approach.

Practical – “The depressed person is in the dark about what exactly he or she needs to do to help recovery.  But in fact a great deal is known about how people recover from depression.  It doesn’t all fit into a neat theoretical package, so it’s hard to pull together, but the knowledge is there to be used.”  (from Undoing Depression, Richard O’Connor PhD).

The knowledge is here.  You learn about depression: what it is, what it isn’t, what started it (for you), what drives it and what maintains it.  You learn what you need to know in order to put you back in control; how to calm your depressed (stressed) brain; how to stop unhelpful thoughts and ruminations; what primal emotional needs are not being met in your life; how to recognise and challenge old, outdated beliefs; how to identify your current, core values and check whether they are aligned with the way you are living now.

Future-oriented – No trawling through past hurts and rehashing old traumas. Research now shows this to be the least helpful intervention for depression. Your story is extremely important but our focus is on the here and now, and on the future. Goal-setting is a part of the process – and we work together on what’s going to be most useful for you.

Time-limited – The programme follows a semi-structured approach which takes about eight 50-minute sessions and follow-ups.

Evidence-based – Depression has attracted huge amounts of research because it is so prevalent in our type of society (an incredible 1000% increase since 1945 and, according to The World Health Organisation, is set to become the second biggest health problem in industrialised societies by 2020).  Fortunately, psychological, neurological, and social research has vastly  increased our understanding of depression and this knowledge is the foundation on which this natural treatment programme has evolved.

My interest in treating depression arose from training with Uncommon Knowledge© which inspired me to use their programme in my practice.

Contact Emma for a free consultation to assess whether this programme is suitable for you.