Depression is, ironically, quite rampant in the city of joy. However, most people take a lot of time to accept that they actually need treatment for depression. If you are seeking consultation and counselling sessions for depression, this article is for you.

Let us understand what happens to the brain in depression. The “happy chemicals” in the brain networks are in short supply. The mind, as a function of the brain, therefore is unable to feel pleasure. Once that happens, the motivation or drive to work or perform our day- to -day activities is lost. And remember that the brain is the controlling center of the human body. So once there is a dysfunction in the control room, it is quite natural that the entire biological system will crash. That is to say, you lose your sleep, appetite and libido. The body is fatigued easily and the mind is unable to concentrate. Naturally, with no pleasure and no motivation to go on living, the person may turn suicidal.

The first consultation session for depression is usually dedicated to understanding the problem, both from the client and the caregiver’s perspective. Once that is done, the psychiatrist decides on the medications and counselling sessions for depression.

A note here. Most people would rather skip the medications and only go in for counselling. But counselling is not a one session wonder. You will be given regular home assignments during each session and for the therapy to work, you are supposed to turn up for the sessions on time with the assignments done properly. The catch here is, in depression, your brain simply lacks the motivation to do anything at all, let alone do mental exercises and mindfulness assignments on a regular basis. So, you will probably need a course of antidepressants to start with and they are quite safe when prescribed by a psychiatrist.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the commonest approach to counselling in depression dictates that our thoughts, emotions and actions are inter-dependent. That is to say, if you think negatively (thought) in a given situation, you are bound to get sad or anxious (emotion) and as a result try to avoid the situation or give up in despair (action/behavior).

In counselling sessions, clients are taught how to identify thoughts that are negative and anxiety provoking. Once the person learns how to identify his/her negative automatic thoughts, the next step is to replace it with a more rational positive thought. For example, after a messy presentation at work, the person might think that he/she is completely worthless and incapable of coming up with a good presentation ever. That is a negative automatic thought. The person is asked to write it down along with his explanation for thinking that way. He is then asked to write down from memory a few good past performances at work. After this exercise, the person automatically begins to see the irrationality of considering himself/herself a total failure. The psychiatrist repeats the same process during the follow-up counselling sessions. As the pattern of thinking changes from negative to positive, the person begins to think more rationally. His/her confidence improves and the mood brightens.

If you are considering psychiatric consultation and counselling sessions for depression, make sure you are fully committed and willing to attend the sessions regularly. As I always say, therapy only works if you do. For further queries, feel free to contact us.
drdebasmitapsychiatrist