Therapy isn’t this mysterious thing. It is a conversation, which can be challenging, insightful and helpful. Though, it can feel magical when people change. Know that we are about to unpack your life a little to see what’s going on. We will need some data and plan from there.

When we are depressed, it’s helpful to know what’s causing the depression. Is it genetic and surfacing for the first time, episodic, or situational? Knowing the cause helps us work out the next step.

Sometimes depression means we got cornered by a series of unfortunate events. Our usual ways of coping get overwhelmed and we shut down. Our decision making skills are impaired and we fall into thinking traps about ourselves, our relationships, and our place in the world. We loose perspective and get so wrapped up in our internal world that we miss the warning lights on the dashboard.

In therapy, we address the different parts of depression. The cause, the impact, and the ideal situation.

We address the events and process them. This can be anything from grief, trauma, or a relationship break-up. We also address thoughts and behaviours. We have to “do our way” out of depression.

Change requires action. What do you need to do more of? What behaviours and habits are causing harm? How do we change these? This might mean committing to some physical activities, being social even if we don’t want to, or reducing our alcohol use.

We also need to look at the way you look at yourself and the world. The way we perceive and think about ourselves and our situations can either be helpful or burden us with unwarranted suffering. Therapy makes you think about how you treat yourself and others.

The ideal situation guides our plan. What does an okay, happy, or feeling like my old self look like? What do we need to do to get there? What are the problems in between we need to solve?

Depressed men talk in therapy, we work on change and solving the problem, with support and care.