Depression (Depressive) Counselling & Therapy

Are you constantly feeling down or hopeless? Do you have little interest or pleasure in doing things you used to enjoy?

Most people feel miserable now and then, often when something upsetting or stressful is happening such as a relationship break-up, or losing a job. Feeling down in response to difficult situations is pretty normal, and usually the feelings fade over time and you get on with life. But when the feelings of unhappiness are intense and persistent - and they don’t go away even when things improve - this could be depression. The medical term for this is ‘major depressive disorder’.

Am I experiencing depression?

Some key signs are

constantly feeling down or hopeless
having little interest or pleasure in doing things you used to enjoy

Some possible signs are

irritability or restlessness feeling tired all the time, or general loss of energy
feelings of emptiness or loneliness
no longer interested in favourite activities
sleep problems – too much, or too little
weight loss or gain
low self-esteem
problems with concentration
reduced sex drive
thinking about death a lot

Anxiety

Often people with depression also find they worry about things more than usual. This is known as anxiety. It can cause physical symptoms like pain, a pounding heart or stomach cramps and for some people these physical symptoms are their main concern.

Anxiety may be constant, or it may come and go in certain circumstances. Either way it’s important to recognise anxiety when it occurs, and to seek help.

Treatment

Treatment options (particularly in include medication through your G.P. or various ‘talking’ treatments. Sometimes medication is taken in combination with one of the ‘talking’ treatments. You may want to discuss your options with your Doctor or you might decide to talk to the professionals at the Durham Centre. We offer a range of psychological, psychotherapeutic, and counselling treatments.

You can see any one of or professionals on referral from your doctor or you could come directly to us. To come to us all you need to do is to phone our receptionist (03)3657776 and she will arrange an appointment with the appropriate practitioner.

Cost

The cost of therapies varies in part depending on the source of funding. Depending on the circumstances partial payment may be available through ACC or through WINZ. Some employees may have an entitlement to a limited number of sessions through one of several employee assistance programmes, particularly OCP and EAP. It would be best to discuss matters with the receptionist at the time of making an appointment.

What Next?

All of our practitioners work with depressed anxious clients. To match up with a therapist form the Durham Centre, look under the “Practitioner” tab and ask our receptionist to make an appointment to explore matters further.

Depression can be serious

Depression is one of the most common reasons that people are absent from work, or are unable to run a home.
The World Health Organisation estimates that by the year 2020, depression will be the second most common cause of ill health and premature death worldwide.
Depression is the most common risk factor for suicidal behaviour (it’s estimated that depression increases the risk of suicide by 20 times).
One in six New Zealanders will experience serious depression, at some time in their life.
Approximately one in seven young people in New Zealand will experience a major depressive disorder before the age of 24.
Women have higher rates of depression than men (one in five women, compared with one in eight men, will have depression over their lifetime).