Online Depression Therapy Across Michigan and Texas
Do you find yourself wondering, what does depression feel like?
It all started with a major life event – a move, leaving school, having a child, going through a breakup – or you’re preparing for something equally significant.
Now all the air has been sucked from your lungs. You’re exhausted. The guilt of falling short is ever-present.
As you swing between intense emotions and numb detachment, you pull away from others to protect yourself from being a burden.
If you’re honest, you’ve had this gnawing sense of isolation, exhaustion, and self-criticism for as long as you can remember.
Therapy for depression can help.
Depression can be isolating, and overwhelming.
Your motivation has evaporated, and you feel trapped in your dark thoughts.
It feels like it is never-ending, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Benefits Of Depression Therapy
SELF
✔ Clarify your values and reawaken a sense of hope, motivation, and interest in what brings your life meaning
✔ Find release from limitations to accepting all facets of yourself
EMOTIONAL
✔ Gently tune in to your beliefs, emotions, physical sensations, and notice patterns
✔ Learn ways to treat yourself with more compassion and kindness
PHYSICAL
✔ Experience the freedom to move through your day feeling more rested and energized
✔ Develop practices to bring your nervous system into balance and out of shutdown
SOCIAL/COMMUNITY
✔ Set boundaries for yourself and others that align with your capacity
✔ Re-engage in activities of self-care and tending to important relationships
Hi, I’m Erin
Depression therapist in Houston, TX and Ann Arbor, MI
Getting started in therapy is a feat in and of itself. I want to honor how much it may take to find yourself here.
I bring an open mind and curiosity to our work. You can trust you will not be shamed or judged. I believe you can determine your capacity better than anyone, and that your choices are your own, even if they are hard to make.
It might feel impossible now, but things can improve. I also know that making this shift takes effort and I’m here to support you along the way.
We’ll work together to keep you from getting pulled down in the undertow and help you find your way back to the surface.
Whenever you’re ready, let’s get started.
Am I depressed?
If you’re still going to work, parenting your child, or spending time with friends, you may question if you “actually” have depression.
Depression can show up in a variety of ways, even if you appear to be functioning to others. If you’ve had long-term depression, it’s more likely that you’ll discount its validity as it’s something you’ve learned to adapt to.
Together, we will explore your experience and determine what might be happening under the surface for you.
Whatever is occurring for you, your experience is valid and we will determine the best treatment options together.
Some symptoms of depression:
Constant thoughts that you, everyone, and everything are awful
Making decisions and concentrating has become tough
Interests just aren’t doing it for you anymore
Sleep patterns have changed (lots more, lots less, frequent wake-ups)
Appetite changes (eating more or a lot less than usual)
Desire for sex or intimacy changes (increase or decrease)
Feelings of shame, emptiness, and worthlessness
Anger, hurt, deep sadness, or full-on apathy
Everything feels hard and you cry a lot, while sometimes you feel absolutely nothing.
Thoughts about death, dying, or wanting to disappear
Isolating because people-ing feels impossible
Others comment on how you seem cranky and prickly
Conflicts make you want to lash out or keep your distance
Reaching out feels pointless because if appears others don’t care or you don’t want to bother them
When ADHD and Depression Collide
Any of these sound familiar?
You feel stuck and defeated when everyday tasks overwhelm you, leaving you wondering why it's so much harder for you than others.
No matter how much potential you know you have, you can't seem to turn it into something real, which makes you doubt your worth and abilities.
You want to connect with others, but you often feel like you don't fit in, leaving you lonely and isolated.
The world around you is either too overwhelming or too dull, making it hard to engage and adding to the gloom.
As an ADHD therapist, I’m here to explore how this ADHD-Depression combination may be impacting your well-being and ways to shift your narrative.
Frequently Asked Questions About Depression Therapy
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There is no one cause for depression. Depression can come up because of situational factors – like overwhelming life transitions –even ones that seem positive on the surface. Depression can also be due to biological/genetic factors, the extended weight of trauma, being subject to oppressive systems, or lacking a sense of where we fit into the world.
Whether biological, environmental, or due to life stress, depression undermines your connection to yourself and your world. Therapy for depression can help you explore the sources of your depression and more safely reconnect to the important aspects of your life.
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Depression treatment can vary from person to person. You may need a different combination of treatment approaches based on several individualized factors. Some of my clients take medication, and some do not. You may benefit from depression therapy alone, or you may need to work with a psychiatric prescriber to get medications that help with the severity of your symptoms in addition to therapy for depression.
While I am not a prescriber, we can explore your views on medication and treatments together to help you determine what treatment options you want to pursue. It is important that you feel empowered to make choices about your own care and feel supported as you try different options to discover what suits your needs.
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While I cannot guarantee the same results for every client, in my years as a depression therapist, I have witnessed clients emerging from the depths of their depression, and I believe it is possible.
Whether you are new to therapy or have been in therapy before, I offer a variety of approaches to address your specific needs and current phase of depression recovery. I draw upon a large variety of modalities and approaches to best suit you and your treatment needs.
Some of these approaches include mindfulness, self-compassion, parts work, nervous system approaches, and exploring distorted thoughts, beliefs, and stories. I’m also skilled at supporting you in reprocessing past traumas that may be contributing to your depressive symptoms. If needed, I can support you in increasing assertiveness, boundaries, and connection to others, so that you can experience more meaning, community, and purpose in your life. Lastly, we will take your depression into account of your family and cultural system, and other societal factors that impact mental health.
