We take a personalized approach to treating your mood disorder. While some depressive disorders have purely physiological causes, others may be rooted in current circumstances or past trauma. This means each case needs its own, unique approach. What works for one client may be ineffective for another. We get to the root of the issue to understand what will be most helpful to you. Our team works holistically to support your healing.

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  Medication

  Starting with a careful evaluation (which may include genetic testing, a timeline of what helped or hindered, and takes account of all the side effects you must not have), we choose a combination of medications based on the research, staying focused and as minimalistic as possible. When treating addictions comorbid with mood disorders, using meds that help both conditions reduces relapse to either. We often use medications well known to others, but also those that are highly effective yet unfamiliar like MAOI’s, ketamine or probiotics.

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  Behavioral interventions

  There are so many treatments that work, and it’s so frustrating that many therapists waste time with treatments that do little more than provide support. Not to knock support. A good caring connection is essential for therapeutic success. But it’s not enough. You need skilled application of targeted treatments that will teach you to tolerate feelings, keep anxiety within a tolerable range, and manage yourself in ways that keep your mind and body functioning well. So we use CBT and ACT, DBT and relational approach. But we also teach you sleep hygiene and restriction, proper nutrition and encourage or craft social reengagement.

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  Relational therapies

  Some of the therapy we do aims to deeply transform your models of yourselves. The main deep models we use derive from AEDP and IFS. As kids, we develop schemas - habitual ways to cope with feelings and stay connected and safe. Our environments may not always fit our needs. If we are very sensitive we will need more patient empathy; if more distracted we may need more gentle structuring. Too often, we can feel an invalidating environment that leaves us feeling alone. Of course, the environment can range from not-enough, through neglect to shaming, humiliating or, frankly, endangering. But the therapy aims to teach anxiety regulation, activate emotional memory in the safety of the therapy and modulate our sense of self through consolidating the new experience. We feel that such therapy is important for many to make change last a lifetime.