Introduction
With millions afflicted globally depressive disorders are among the most prevalent mental illnesses. Disorders can manifest in a variety of ways ranging from perpetual melancholy and despair to extreme situations in which sufferers consider suicide or self-harm. Thankfully despite their widespread occurrence, there are many effective treatments available, including psychologist-led depression counseling which is among the best. With an emphasis on the distinctions between traditional and online counseling This article explores how psychologists assist individuals in overcoming depressive disorders.
An Overview
A collection of disorders known as depressive conditions can alter a person’s personality. Bipolar disorder major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder are the three most well-known conditions. All of these conditions share common symptoms such as persistent depression difficulty focusing exhaustion sleep patterns and eating patterns even though they each have unique symptoms and consequences. To conclude with psychologists are important in identifying and treating depression. Their training equips them with the skills and information necessary to distinguish and tailor treatments for every ailment.
The Importance of Psychologists in Depression Counseling
Numerous depressive disorders cannot be properly diagnosed and treated without a psychologist’s involvement. Indeed, during their curriculum, psychologists master the necessary skills to recognize the specifics of each disorder while developing exclusive treatment plans. Depression counselling is most frequently based on a set of psychotherapy methods, lifestyle modifications, and medication treatments provided by a psychiatrist.
Psychotherapy Techniques Most Applicable to Depression Counseling:
1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most successful methods and is used mainly; it is based on recognizing and transforming one’s thoughts of a pathological nature into rational ones and replace them with inappropriate and maladaptive behavior patterns, the formation of normal behavioral stereotypes. The main point is to change the sufferer’s negative thinking patterns to normal ones.
2. Interpersonal Therapy
This therapy design is based on the assumption that someone’s relationship patterns are an important factor in the onset and recurrence of generalized anxiety disorder. Inhibiting and lack of realizing interpersonal relationships are stressors. This, along with the fact that depression has a distorted function of interpersonal communication, creates stress and depressive episodes. The goal of the therapy is to treat the depressive patient in terms of their interpersonal dysfunction and the full realization of their potential in this regard.
3. Psychodynamic Therapy
A counseling approach called psychodynamic therapy aims to investigate the developed unconscious psyche. People can gain a better understanding of how they react to past experiences whether in a healthy or unhealthy way by thinking back on and bringing these unconscious thoughts to the surface. They will be able to understand their feelings and motivations as they develop their characters. Additionally this will cause the process of personal growth to progress in a more mature or positive manner.
How Online Psychologists Conduct Depression Counseling
Although online psychologists use the same methods as their in-person counterparts, they modify these to the digital environment. That’s how they usually conduct sessions.
- Initial Assessment:
First of all, the first step is primed to take place in full through a video call or a detailed set of questions. By getting detailed information about the symptoms, history, and specific needs of the individual, helps the psychologist in determining the kind of treatment.
- Therapy Sessions:
Subsequently, scheduled online therapy sessions are conducted where the psychologist employs different psychotherapies that are designed based on the individual’s level of progress and response. The proper incorporation of digital tools such as apps to keep track of the mood and activities of the individual are used mainly to aid the therapy.
- Homework Assignments:
To strengthen the work done during a session, e-practitioners may as well give assignments, as this is also done in traditional face-to-face therapy. This may consist of the patient keeping a diary, working through exercises and practices of concentrating directed at mindfulness or performing leisure activities which consist of a plan for disaster-challenging thought patterns.
- Ongoing Support:
Moreover, many have incorporated crisis chat lines or phone hotlines available 24/7 into their platform. These procedures guarantee that individuals can always receive help, especially in the case those who undergo acute complications related to disease.
Mindset Change
Depression is not just an emotional state but it is a condition that impacts the mind and body simultaneously impacting your social life and professional life. A negative event or a build of negative emotions or stress could lead to depression and sometimes it is more to do with biological conditions, not having control of the level of chemicals in their brain that is contributing to the depressive symptoms.
Depression is a condition, and something not to be ashamed of, it is curable, you just need to seek help.
The first step towards dealing with depression is to recognize the feelings of persistent sadness, that are impacting your work and relationships and you see yourself struggling in your life as a result of feeling hopelessness, and worthlessness. When you notice these changes take help from, mental health professionals, to get diagnosed.
Severe depression is treated with psychotherapy used by counselors along with medications. Mild and moderate depression can be cured with counseling.
Tips to manage depression during counseling
- Prioritising self care- Just as it is advised in the airplanes that in case of emergency, always ensure that you are putting your mask on first before anyone else which is advised to ensure that without ensuring our own safety, we do not put another person’s safety in jeopardy. Similarly, when we cannot pour from an empty cup, therefore focusing on ourself to prioritise our own self care and mental health is necessary.
- Including regular exercise – Mental health and physical health are very interconnected and important aspects to recovery from depression. There are many neurochemicals which are activated by movement in our bodies. Therefore, to facilitate overall coping and treatment of depression, a hollistic approach of combining mental health exercises and physical exercises is necessary.
- Giving importance to a healthy diet- The connection of mind and our gut/stomach is such that if there are imbalances in our diet, if nutrient absorption is low, or if there are issues with bowel movement it leads to an immediate impact on the mood and well-being. Similarly if our mind is not at rest, there is anxiety or worry then as a result there are multiple bowel problems that individuals report.
- Sleeping consistently for 8 hours- As a result of depressive symptoms many people have issues with their sleep time. Some report sleeping less; some say they sleep for hours and hours on end. Finding a right balance is the key. Research has shown that 8 hours of sleep is the most optimum level of sleep required for feeling fresh and functioning well throughout the day.
- Reconnect with social support people– Nothing can be emphasised enough than this. Human beings are wired to connect with other people and derive safety, security and peace of mind. However, in this day and age, being selective about who makes us feel more fulfilled than drained so that we create a support system for ourselves to rely on.
- Take appropriate action- Doing as per the treatment plan, following up with homeworks, monitoring one’s mood and activity for progress tracking. Behaviour activation is one of the most important element in depression counseling. The continuous cycle of thoughts often do not break on its own but rather through taking actions in the right direction.
Conclusion
Depressive disorders affect the person’s quality of life, but they can be fought with the help of a professional. Both traditional and online depression counseling do have proven methods as far as which is best. The era of online psychologists is a revolution in mental health services, because besides offering help at the convenience of the patient, the online psychologist can also do the treatment at the comfort of their own place. With the development of technology, there will be new and novel ways for providing mental health services which will effectively reach people in need, hence our support and treatment are always at hand for the depressed.
