Depression Therapy

When Getting Through the Day Feels Like Enough

Depression doesn't always look like what you see in commercials — the person sitting alone by a window in the rain. Sometimes it looks like going through the motions. Functioning fine on the outside while feeling hollow on the inside. Losing interest in things you used to love. Snapping at people you care about. Sleeping too much or not enough. Feeling like a burden, or like nothing you do matters, or like the future is just more of this.

Sometimes it looks like numbness more than sadness. Sometimes it's the persistent, quiet conviction that you are the problem — that other people manage to feel okay, and you just can't get it together.

None of that is character. None of it is weakness. Depression is a real condition with real causes, and it responds to real treatment. You don't have to keep white-knuckling it alone.

Depression Doesn't Always Come from Nowhere

In my practice, I find that depression is rarely just a chemical imbalance that dropped out of the sky. More often, it's rooted in something — grief that never got processed, chronic stress that finally tipped the scale, a trauma that rewired the nervous system's baseline, a relationship that slowly eroded your sense of self, a life that doesn't match what you thought it would be.

Understanding the roots of your depression — not just managing the symptoms — is what allows lasting change. We're not trying to just get you back to baseline. We're trying to help you build something more solid underneath.

That said, sometimes depression is severe enough that it needs to be stabilized before we can do deeper work. I'll always be honest with you about where I think you are and what you need — including whether a referral to a psychiatrist for medication evaluation might be a helpful part of your care alongside therapy.

Depression and Identity

A meaningful portion of my practice involves depression that's tangled up with identity — depression that developed alongside or in response to navigating a marginalized identity in a world that wasn't built for you. LGBTQ+ clients, creatives who've internalized industry rejection, people who've left faith communities and lost their entire social world, individuals from families where their needs were never centered.

Depression in these contexts isn't just about brain chemistry. It's about grief, alienation, and the cumulative weight of living in a world that often sends the message that you don't belong. I hold that complexity carefully, and I bring both clinical expertise and genuine personal understanding to it.

How I Treat Depression

My approach combines several evidence-based frameworks, tailored to what you actually need:

• Trauma-informed care — because depression and unresolved trauma are frequently intertwined, and treating one without the other often leaves people stuck
• Cognitive-behavioral approaches — examining the thought patterns depression uses to sustain itself, and practicing different ways of relating to your own mind
• EMDR — when depression is rooted in specific memories or experiences, EMDR can help process them in a way that talk therapy alone sometimes can't reach. Learn more →
• Behavioral activation — depression steals motivation, which makes it harder to do the things that would help, which deepens depression. We work on that cycle practically and compassionately
• Somatic awareness — depression lives in the body, and we pay attention to that

What Depression Therapy Actually Looks Like

In our first session, I'll ask about what's been happening — when you started feeling this way, what's gotten better or worse, what your life looks like right now. I'll also ask about your history, because depression rarely exists in isolation. Understanding the full picture helps me understand you.

From there, we'll set goals together. Not vague goals like "feel better" — real, specific ones. What does your life look like when depression isn't running it? What do you want to get back? What do you want to build?

Sessions are 50 minutes, typically weekly at first. Progress isn't always linear — some weeks will feel better, some won't. I'll help you understand what's happening and stay with the process even when it's hard. Most people start to feel meaningful change within a few months of consistent work, though everyone's timeline is different.

You Deserve More Than This

One of depression's cruelest tricks is convincing you that you don't deserve help. That you're not bad enough. That other people have it worse. That this is just your personality. None of that is true. Depression is treatable, and you deserve to feel like yourself again — or maybe for the first time.

If you're in Pasadena or anywhere in California, reach out. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation — just a conversation about what's going on and whether I might be able to help.

Related Specialties

• Trauma Therapy — when depression is rooted in unresolved trauma
• Anxiety Therapy — depression and anxiety frequently travel together
• LGBTQ+ Affirming Therapy — identity-related depression with affirming support
• Religious Trauma — depression after leaving high-control communities
• Therapy for Creatives — depression and the creative life