Various Types of Counseling
Depression Counseling
Many people come to therapy to get help with various types of depression. Depression counseling can help.
Depression is a universal term and people can experience it differently. We also tend to relate to depression in different ways. We can experience depression while being functionally healthy on the outside. How many times do we answer the question from people we meet of “how are you?” with a short “I’m fine”? But we’re not fine. We may not be able to put a finger on what’s wrong with us as we continue to do our day’s tasks without missing a step. Many of us have a consistent unhappiness that tugs at us begging to get out attention. But what can we do if we don’t even know what’s wrong with us?
Millions of people struggle with depression. Many people may experience clinical levels of depression that could require medication because living life is just too hard without meeting their symptoms head on with some help from one of the many commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals. People who have clinical levels of depression may have a hard time controlling their emotions. They may not be able to shake their low moods. They can be sad or emotionless without cause or reason. Their depression gets in the way of life in almost every way possible. Other people can experience situational depression that revolves around a loss of a loved one or job or a phase of life or transition.
Many people end up self-treating their depression through compulsive, excessive, or addictive behaviors like alcohol, sex, shopping, or working too much. Depression really is so common in our society that almost everyone will experience it at least once in their lives.
When seeking depression counseling, it is common to not understand what is causing your depression or why. This is why depression counseling is helpful. You and your counselor can explore your thoughts, thinking processes, and emotions in a way that makes sense for you so you can begin to relate to your experiences in a different and more helpful and healthy way. The most important thing is that you get some relief and resolution to help you deal with and cope with your struggles. You aren’t alone and we want to help.
Individual Counseling
Individual counseling is helpful for people who are looking to get a better understanding of their lives and where their emotions, past experiences, motivations, and goals fit into all of it. While individual counseling is more of a generic term for counseling, it’s the basis of any one on one therapeutic relationship. People come to individual counseling to get clarity and resolution. The awareness that the ways they were trying to “do life” just don’t work the way they used to anymore. There can be a sense of “something just not being right” in their lives or maybe they have issues with relationships or unresolved grief from a past or recent loss.
We can do it all on our own. Nobody can. Not me. Not you. Not anyone. There is no shame in getting help from someone and, in fact, reaching out to a therapist and just talking and acknowledging your thoughts and concerns can be very freeing and relieving. One of the most beneficial parts of individual counseling is to have an impartial person listen to you and give their thoughts and reflections to you. Seems simple right? But if you think about it, most of the people in your life probably have a lot at stake with you. They love you and they care about you. Your moods and behavior directly affect them. Your therapist doesn’t have any skin in the game. Sure, they care but they are there to help you learn how to better help yourself. There is a naturally healing effect by sharing with someone who doesn’t judge you but wants the best for you. This is the beauty of individual counseling.
Marriage Counseling (Relationship Counseling)
If you are having problems in your marriage or relationship, marriage counseling can help (for the sake of this explanation we’ll just call it “marriage counseling”). You know that things aren’t working in your relationship if things stay the same. Maybe it’s bad enough that if you don’t get help, you could split up. There could be damage to the relationship or trust issues. You and your partner might fight all the time and not know how to communicate without pissing each other off. Or maybe you and your partner have become so distant that you feel more like roommates than lovers. There’s also something to be said for couples that want more from their marriage or relationship even if things are relatively good. Couples can benefit from marriage counseling even if things aren’t “really that bad” but they are looking for more intimacy, better communication, and greater overall relational satisfaction.
The therapists at Life Made Conscious will be able to help you and your partner develop better forms of communication, behavioral insights, and simply ways to love each other the ways that you want. We are also able to help with serious issues of trust, distancing, infidelity, and conflict so you can get what you need.
Reaching out to get help with your marriage or relationship problems isn’t easy. We understand that. Let’s be honest. Nobody really wants to go to marriage counseling. But looking at the alternatives, couples make the decision to get help to save or improve their marriage or relationships. Sometimes one of the partners doesn’t want to come to counseling or is resistant to opening up. We get that too. We’re here to help. We’re going to treat both partners with respect and understanding. We also want you to see results so we’re going to let you and your partner know where we are seeing issues in your behavior and communication styles. We owe that to you. We don’t want to waste your time and we know a lot is a stake.
To learn more about how our counseling services can help, check out all the information on the website and view other specialties we offer.
If you are ready to schedule a counseling appointment or would like to schedule a free 15 minute consultation, call or text us at 513-306-4000 or email info@lifemadeconscious.com