Depression Counselling

Reaching out for help when you are depressed can be really difficult. Perhaps it will help to understand a bit about my approach to depression counselling.

Most of us go through periods of feeling low from time to time, feeling sad or down. We get the blues, feel miserable, out of sorts, not ourselves.

Usually these phases pass after a few days or weeks.

Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they go on for weeks or months or even years.

Have you been feeling persistently low for some time? Or even suicidal, feeling like life is not worth living any more?

Depression Counselling Hove

There is a big difference between sadness and depression.

Depression can overwhelm you with feelings of isolation, self-loathing, and guilt.

Maybe you have been feeling unhappy or hopeless for some time. You might feel tearful all the time, or maybe for you it’s more of a deadened feeling, a painful nothingness.

One of the worst things about depression is how it sucks the joy out of things you usually enjoy.

Are you always feeling tired, having trouble sleeping, suffering unexplained aches and pains? Maybe you’ve lost your appetite, or on the other hand you might find all you do is eat. Is your sex life suffering too?

Often the symptoms of depression coincide with anxiety.

It could be that you have been through a life-changing event like a bereavement, illness, divorce, being made redundant, or having a baby.

You could be lacking direction, feeling aimless and pointless, wondering what you are doing with your life.

Maybe there is a history of depression in your family.

Maybe you have no idea why you feel this way.

Feeling Better

Talking therapy like I offer at Depression Counselling Hove can really help with depression.

Some interesting new research suggests that depression might be your brain’s way of making you slow down, make sense of and solve a problem.

(And it could be that depression and anxiety often appear together because some problems require both analysis, which is promoted by the depression, and vigilance, which is promoted by the anxiety. It could be that the depression gives you space to work out what happened while the anxiety helps you prevent it from happening again.)

You might be wondering what on earth that problem might be that your particular mind is struggling with. That’s OK. It will probably take us a little while to work it out.

While we’re doing that, we’ll also think about little things you can do to help yourself feel better, like making healthier choices and reaching out to people who might be able to support you.

How Depression Counselling Hove Can Help

You might have found that some people have struggled to accept your depression. That they tell you to cheer up, snap out of it, get yourself together.

I understand that it doesn’t work like that. I know that it’s only when we accept ourselves and our feelings as they are that we are able to move through them.

That is why I will sit with you and support you as you are now. I will hold onto the hope that you can’t feel right now, and believe in your capacity to heal even when you are struggling to.

I will listen to you and bear witness, following your lead as to what you need to talk about. Having your pain acknowledged in this way can in itself be healing.

If it interests you, we can also do some CBT. I can give you some workbooks to make your way through in your own time and then come back and discuss with me. Each module includes information, worksheets, and exercises or activities you might find helpful.

You deserve to feel better. Getting in touch is a big step, which can feel particularly difficult when you are depressed. I understand that, and I will do my best to make the experience of reaching out to me as comfortable as possible.

Really good value for money

I felt that my session was really good value for money because Catherine shared models of relationships, gave me recommendations for further therapy, gave me the space to talk, challenged (in a positive way) my position so that I could reflect and she also got me thinking about the areas that I would benefit from working on. Overall, I felt that she held a very effective clinical space, whilst also creating feelings of warmth and understanding. 

One-off Coaching Session, November 2020

Definitely go for it

 

What would you tell someone else who was considering working with Catherine?

Definitely go for it; Catherine is very professional and very good at what she does.

One-off Coaching Session, November 2020

I got more out of that one hour than I expected

What would you tell someone else who was considering working with Catherine?

She'll help "calm the crazy" as I like to say. Motherhood and marriage is messy and amazing and hard. It's such a huge life transition and so little is discussed around it. Catherine really validated my experience and gave me some great advice.

I got more out of that one hour than I expected. I really appreciated it. It made me want to sign up with her as my therapist!

One-off Coaching Session, February 2021

Practical examples of things to try

What was most helpful about working with Catherine?

Normalising patterns and behaviour that I am experiencing within my relationship currently. Offering hope that things can improve, giving me practical examples of things to try and tweak over the next few weeks. Giving me the permission to continue on my growth journey without expecting my partner to be on the same path or feeling responsible for his growth and overall life satisfaction. Also being encouraged to write about some of the topics you wanted to cover on the call in as much detail as you wanted was really liberating. Catherine took great care in digesting my information and usefully played it back to me during out session. She also sent many useful resources afterwards which I have been able to digest at my own pace.

One-off Coaching Call, March 2021

So many things were helpful

So many things were helpful that it is hard to choose just one. Most helpful was probably how compassionate you were towards me. This slowly helped me shift the way that I relate to myself. Counselling felt like a very safe and warm space, in which I could  look at myself with more kindness and allow myself to express feelings and needs. This has helped me personally as well as making me more open in my relationships with other people, privately and at work. Thank you Catherine. The two years with you have meant a lot to me and have changed me in many ways.

Individual Therapy, October 2020

I could not have asked for a better independent witness to my story

I could not have asked for a better independent witness to my story than Catherine. As she joined me on my journey she was kind and supportive. Encouraging me to see things in a different light. I will probably return at some stage; Catherine's instinctive approach and skill of picking out key elements in my narrative helped me make sense of things at this difficult time for me. Thank you. Everything was clear & straight forward. Which is no mean feat when you are operating in a global pandemic!!

Individual Therapy, August 2020

Her manner was calm and comforting

What made you decide to book a call with Catherine?

Her content on Instagram really resonated with me in terms of what I was going through with my partner. On her stories her manner was calm and comforting. She had a sense of quiet confidence about her and pragmatism in the way she approached different topics.

One-off Coaching Call, March 2021

Catherine is pragmatic, considerate, practical

Catherine is pragmatic, considerate, practical. She puts you at ease, listens and is what she preaches curiously compassionate 😉 She takes all the potential shame or guilt around asking for help out of the equation and provides you with so many practical and theoretical (if you want that too) tips and advice.

One-off Coaching Call, March 2021

Catherine always remained calm and collected

Catherine always remained calm and collected even during times filled with conflict in couples therapy. She managed to bring back my then boyfriend to a calmer state and I felt like she was standing up for me when I couldn't. I felt like I had a good bond with her and trusted her so that I could open up in front of her.

Couples Therapy, August 2020

I feel I am in a very different place

One of the most useful things about going to counselling was learning so much about myself. I feel I am in a very different place from when I first started and I owe it to the support and help which Catherine offered. I will not rule out returning if I feel I need to, but for now I feel happy with the place I am in.

Individual Therapy, July 2019

Such a calming force

[Catherine] was such a calming force, I felt very supported, she pointed out a few things I should look at, gave a book recommendation, she reframed some of the issues I had swirling around in my head, and she was able to bring the conversation to really nice ending point.

One-off Coaching Session, February 2021

I really found the whole experience really helpful

What was most helpful about your counselling?

Having a different perspective on my situation and what I was going through. Talking through how I was feeling and then being directed by Catherine to look at things in a different way and make connections to other parts of my life and relationships helped to make sense of things. I really found the whole experience really helpful and exactly what I needed at the point I was at. Thank you for your help.

Individual Therapy, June 2018

You were excellent

Thanks for all your help. I will be in touch if I need to in the future. You were excellent.

Couples Therapy, November 2017

I felt extremely well heard and held

What was most helpful about working with Catherine?

The clarity of her questions, including when completing the questionnaire before the session. Catherine's style of covering the points that I raised in a direct but sensitive way; I felt extremely well heard and held.

One-off Coaching Session, November 2020

Catherine was wise and supportive

Catherine was wise and supportive, picking out elements of my story and helping me see things in a different way. I will probably return at some stage; Catherine has been very kind and helpful at a difficult time in my life.

Individual Therapy, August 2017

She helped me through the fog of self doubt

Catherine describes herself as a demystifier – and she is. But not just of psychobabble. She helped me through the fog of self doubt, delusion, depression that clouded me in a difficult period of my life. And in place of fog she helped install the ropes and tackle I needed to climb onto dry land, out from the cold, and find a seat back by the fire. But equally, she possesses a superpower (and a useful one for a therapist): she has an off-the-chart ability to listen. To make you hear her listening, to adjust the quality of silence you sometimes need to say what you didn’t know you were going to say, to make you feel heard. Her empathy is palpable; yet I’ve never once felt patronised. Most extraordinary is that she does all this without judgement or prejudice, but with sincerity and good humour. It’s pretty much the perfect combination and I can’t think of anybody who wouldn’t benefit from talking to Catherine. And I can’t thank her enough.

Individual Therapy, January 2018

The help you’ve given me has been invaluable

I just want to say a huge thank you for the past year. The help you’ve given me has been invaluable and I’ve learnt so much about myself, my past, and my relationship to the wider world. Your guidance and help will stand to me for the rest of my life and I’ve made so many positive changes in the past year, a lot of which I feel I owe to you. Thank you so much for everything.

Individual Therapy, May 2017