DEPRESSION COUNSELING
It hardly seems like life is working in your favor.
With all the times that things have been a struggle or haven’t worked out, it makes sense that you feel discouraged. It’s as if there’s a dark cloud over your head. You can’t quite explain it but it weighs you down and keeps you from feeling motivated and joyful.
You’d love to feel more optimistic and energized but you are unsure of how to get there.
Sadness or depression did not always weigh you down like this, and even during those times when you felt like things aren’t quite working, you put your head down and just kept pushing forward…or at least you tried.
It is just not working now. Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps seems to be getting harder and harder and it feels like it won’t get better. At times you even wonder whether you’ll find that ease and joy in life going forward, and you wonder if there is something wrong with you. Plagued with shoulds and regret you seem to be caught in a vicious cycle. You struggle with negative thoughts and feelings, trying to figure out how to avoid or eliminate them.
Now life feels like a giant pit of quicksand and the more you try to free yourself, the faster you sink.
There seems to be less and less joy. You feel apathetic.
This is not how you envisioned your life. You had no idea depression or other mood disorders could keep you from living the life you want.
We are here to help.
Our therapists are trained in depression treatments, ready to walk along with you to depression healing.
When you seek depression counseling From our Therapists
- You will learn self-compassion and mindfulness skills to allow you the flexibility of responding to painful emotions and thoughts effectively, letting go of the struggle
- You will learn emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills
- You will clarify your values and take action in a meaningful way, identifying what really matters to you, living a fuller and a more meaningful life
- You will be able to reach beyond suffering and depression to a larger sense of purpose
The depression therapy process at Lotus Consulting
Depression counseling at Lotus Consulting is intended to help you rediscover what makes your life worth living. Rather than simply helping you to just feel better, we help you live better. We walk with you, making small steps you need in order to trust the process and keep moving forward.
Together, you and your therapist will work to navigate your feelings and thoughts effectively in the present, build hope around your future and regain momentum to make bigger changes.
We do what works
You do not have to feel lost, detached or feel the whole gamut of emotions and behaviors all at once and without much control.
Depression Therapy
We use evidence-based treatments informed by the best science available and what research and direct practice have shown to be effective.
Our weekly sessions are 55 minutes long.
Depression counseling begins with initial assessment meeting during which we gather key information about what brings you in and related factors ranging from genetics to information about your environment helping us understand your thought process and how you navigate the world including emotions and coping strategies. We are trained to solicit the right information and apply the best protocols tailored to your situation. We are here to help you get better. You will develop a plan to put you back on the path to your purpose.
Insurance and payment options
We accept Blue Cross, Blue Shield insurance, Blue Care Network including Premier Care, Michigan Care, Aetna, United Healthcare, Priority Health, Multiplan and Cigna via Multiplan. We are also happy to provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance. Some insurance plans offer out of network benefits. Our out of pocket fee is $145 – $170 and we have some sliding scale options.
We accept cash, check and credit payments as well as HAS/FSA cards.
More About Lotus Consulting
We have a number of therapists providing counseling for depression at Lotus.
You are not alone. We understand, and we are here to help.
Our professional team at Lotus is here to help you break that vicious cycle mood and depression concerns, lean into rather than fight the discomfort of “quicksand” in order to “get out”. It’s easy to lose perspective and no longer see how we contribute to our struggle. We are here to help you regain clarity, perspective, and hope.
You can feel joy and satisfaction again
Connect with us. Get professional support and learn effective skills to manage your depression and mood concerns. Capitalizing on your potential is possible. Even though the pressure you face has led you to feel lost or discouraged, it doesn’t mean you can’t start feeling joy, contentment, and satisfaction again.
At Lotus Consulting
We offer a safe and judgment-free environment and a deeply caring, compassionate and highly trained professional, multidisciplinary team. You can begin to recover while feeling heard. We offer emotion regulation, distress tolerance skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills, mindfulness and acceptance training and more. We help you expand your psychological flexibility and pursue a valued living.
Live the life that is meaningful to you
Our team of licensed therapists will help you refocus on what you value in life by cutting through the noise of depression and mood concerns, leaning into discomfort and integrating effective tools.
Our mission
Our mission is to provide a deeply caring, compassionate care, safe and judgment-free environment coupled with evidence-based therapies to help you and all of our clients live a richer, fuller and more satisfying life.
Through the use of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, we help you and all clients manage painful emotions and experiences, increase tolerance of distress, let go of struggle, living mindfully and getting clear on what really matters to you.
We are dedicated to a high standard of ethical and effective care.
We are deeply passionate about mental health and wellness as well as social justice issues.
The clinical approaches of our team members vary within the spectrum of evidence-based treatments ranging from mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Prolonged Exposure treatment. All of us at Lotus believe in and conduct our work from a place of empowerment and inclusion, drawing from multicultural competence.
Who benefits from depression counseling
Depression therapy is best for those who experience mood concerns, depressed mood, mood swings, inability to enjoy things, changes in areas such as eating and/or sleeping.
Types of depression and mood disorders
There are several types of depressive and mood disorders. These include dysthymia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorders, seasonal affective disorder, grief, and loss.
Dysthymia is characterized by a chronic pattern of low mood over an extended period of time without episodes of major depression. Symptoms are not as pervasive but persistent.
Major depression is characterized by episode(s) of pervasive low mood, diminished ability to experience pleasure, loss of interested in previously enjoyed activities. Other signs often include fatigue, appetite and sleep changes, memory and concentration difficulties, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of suicide.
Bipolar disorders are characterized by alternating states of depression and mania or hypomania. These states can last for days, weeks or months.
Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression that begins and ends during a specific season each year. For most this occurs during fall/winter months with the decrease in natural light.
Some mood concerns can be the result of pospartum changes and our team is happy to address postpartum difficulties and postpartum depression and navigating parenthood and family life.
You will benefit from depression therapy you experience some of these symptoms:
- You find it’s hard to get out of bed
- You feel unmotivated and fatigued
- You have been having difficulty with focus and memory
- You’ve noticed changes in your appetite and sleep
- You cry more often than usual and it sometimes it seem like there’s no reason
- You have been isolating more
- Not much in your life seems enjoyable these days
Co-occurring disorders we treat along with depression include:
If you are experiencing any of these, see our service page for these concerns to learn more about them and Lotus treatment. Know we address and treat a wide range of concerns from stress management and general mental health and wellness, transitions and identity concerns to specialized mental health for concerns such as eating disorders. This list is an example of concerns we treat. If you don’t see a specific concern please contact us with questions. We are happy to connect with you. This is a sample of how we work and what you can expect at Lotus. We are deeply passionate about mental health and wellness as well as social justice issues.
While the clinical approach of our team members varies some within the spectrum of evidence-based approaches ranging from mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Prolonged Exposure treatment, all of us believe in and conduct our work from a place of empowerment and inclusion, drawing from multicultural competence.
Your next steps
It is possible to experience joy again. You will be able to pursue the life that matters to you, experience increased level of motivation and satisfaction the more you live a life consistent with your values.
Right now, happiness feels far off, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start taking the necessary steps to start unpacking depression today.
You will feel empowered to live the life that is meaningful to you. We look forward to walking with you.
To schedule an appointment for depression counseling call today.
MAJOR DEPRESSION
People dealing with depression experience a low mood or lack of interest in pleasurable activities, and also may experience sleeplessness or oversleeping, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fatigue, feeling slowed down, and suicidal ideation.
Symptoms of major depression can also include feelings of sadness, changes in appetite, loss of motivation or pleasure in life, difficulties with attention and concentration, memory issues. For some, these periods come on fairly suddenly and strongly and tend to last for a few weeks to a few months. For others, the feelings of sadness, hopelessness, low self-esteem, and general dissatisfaction with life are more pervasive and longstanding; it may be difficult to remember a time when you did feel satisfied with life.
Depression is a common problem and in most cases, it is very responsive to therapy.
DySTHYMIA
People with dysthymia usually feel like they have little or no joy in their lives. Things seem gloomy most of the time. If you have dysthymia, you may feel like you’ve been depressed your whole life. You may have a hard time enjoying things and having fun. You might tend to be withdrawn, worry frequently, or criticize yourself as being a failure. You may feel guilty, worthless, or have difficulties with sleep.
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER
When the season moves into winter, the days grow shorter, and the skies turn gray, do you find that your mood darkens as well? If so, you’re not alone. Approximately 10% of Americans experience a lower mood during the winter months, and this rate is as high as 20-30% of people in North America.
The “winter blues” can develop into something more serious. Spending less time outside (rain or shine) can contribute to SAD and even associated levels of vitamin D.
Symptoms subside for many during spring and summer.
Symptoms of SAD include the increased need for sleep, daytime fatigue, irritability, decreased activity, decreased concentration and ability to think clearly, decreased sex drive, and increased appetite.