How to Treat Depression with Depth Psychotherapy
For many individuals, the question of how to treat depression is an important one, and /a-midlife-transition can have a vital role to play.
There are numerous approaches to depression. Nonetheless, for individuals of certain temperaments, /a-midlife-transition may be indispensable.
Depression as Energy Gone Into the Unconscious
Depression may be genetically and or physiologically rooted. But much depression has emotional and feeling level roots.
We can visualize depression using the metaphor of energy for our sense of vitality, zest for living, values, motivation and spontaneity. Life situations may dampen our energy, shutting us down on the conscious level. Yet that energy doesn’t disappear. It retreats into the unconscious. We may feel lifeless in our conscious lives, yet we can often discern its presence in dreams, and other unconscious manifestations.
“The quantity and quality of the depression is a function of the quality and quantity of the life force which is being pressed down.”
~James Hollis
So, the more depressed and shut down I feel — the more something inside of me really wants to be alive, but is being held down.
Knots
Held down by what?
The answer to this question will fundamentally determine our approach to how to treat depression.
Consider a child who does not get basic needs met , who is completely unseen and unvalued in the family of origin. She could easily internalize that negative evaluation as a judgement on her own worth.
Alternately, an individual unfairly treated and dismissed from a work role may find himself torn between wanting to fight back and vindicate himself, and a desire to accept what has happened, let it go, and move into a new life possibility. This conflict saps his vitality.
These two cases have similarities, but are profoundly different. Addressing the unique situation of the particular individual may the most important consideration in how to treat depression.
The Heart of Depression
It is not going to be enough for many individuals dealing with depression to simply be exhorted to move their thinking toward the positive. Often, some very important part of the life is deeply suppressed at the heart of depression. It is very necessary to understand that thing in depth, to visualize it, and to move it
A brief example: Through the course of depth therapy, a late 40s client understands a dream from age 13… and realizes that the dream holds the key to a key issue developing in the client’s life for the past 35 years.
The journey of therapy often holds the key to unlocking an individual’s vitality.
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