Updated 8 October 2020
Depression affects around 1 in 5 people in the UK and influences how a person thinks, feels, and manages in everyday life.
Typically, symptoms of depression include a feeling of sadness, loss of interest or pleasure in things previously enjoyed and a lack of motivation.
Symptoms of depression can vary, with some people also experiencing difficulties such as sleep problems (particularly insomnia and early waking), anxiety or even physical health problems due to indirect effects of giving up exercise or eating poorly.
The good news is, however, that depression is treatable and our depression clinic in Newcastle has helped many people deal with the underlying cause of their low mood and develop strategies to cope with relapses.
Below are some ways that psychologists can help if you’re suffering from depression and low mood:
Providing Counselling & Talking Therapies
Our depression clinic in Newcastle offer a number of proven therapies that have demonstrated effectiveness in helping people overcome depression.
Therapeutic approaches such as counselling, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness for depression, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and other types of talking therapy have been shown to help people feel better.
Psychologists are trained to use talking therapies in a way to help people overcome depression, overcome their problems and get back to everyday functioning.
Counselling and therapies such as Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (mentioned above) have been shown to be effective in understanding depression and why a person may be experiencing it.
CBT in particular has been shown to help a person deal with their low mood, problem-solve more effectively and overcome negative thinking.
Challenge Negative Thought and Behaviours
The key focus of talking therapies at our depression clinic in Newcastle is to help people challenge negative thoughts, emotions and behaviours so that they can break the negative cycles that cause low mood.
By exploring and challenging negative or depressive thoughts, in conjunction with helping people develop more effective coping strategies, psychologists give people the skills to tackle their problems outside of the clinic and in their everyday life.
By taking an active role in recovery, people with depression can learn to take control of negative thinking and develop helpful ways of responding to problems which can help overcome depression.
These skills can also be especially helpful in relapse prevention, which is an important focus for us with the people we work with.
Help You Engage With What’s Meaningful To You
When depression comes on, it can be hard to see a way forward and it’s easy to fall into a trap of thinking that your low mood, lack of interest and sadness won’t go away or that nothing can help.
This isn’t true.
As well as looking at ways to help you overcome depression, the therapy techniques that psychologists, counsellors and therapists use can also help you build a more engaging life through helping you move in the direction of your goals, values and person you want to be.
This is important in depression.
By working with your values, goals and helping you move towards the person you want to be, psychologists can use techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help you overcome depression and build a more fulfilling life afterwards and prevent relapse in the future.
Contact Us for Further Help
Whether your experiences with depression have been long standing or more recent, our depression clinic in Newcastle can help. Get in touch with us for an initial consultation by calling 07966 645 198 or contact us using the form below.
Best wishes,
Dr Stuart Sadler
Lead Clinical Psychologist
