Depression
Supporting you in overcoming low mood and rediscovering your purpose and motivation.
Depression
Addressing both the biological roots and psychological patterns of depression with a holistic, minimum-effective-dose medication approach.
Approaches Used
- Medication Management
- Motivational Interviewing
- Behavioral Activation
What this often looks like
- Things you used to care about produce nothing now, not even irritation
- Mornings are the hardest part of the day, every day
- You are functioning at work and empty the moment you stop
- Sleep is either escape or impossible, with no middle setting
- Decisions that used to be automatic take an unreasonable amount of effort
What the first appointment covers
We establish what kind of depression this is, because the label covers several different things: a first episode, a recurring pattern, depression that alternates with periods of unusual energy, or a low mood that has been constant for years and started to feel like personality. Screening for past periods of elevated mood matters particularly, because treating bipolar depression as if it were unipolar can destabilise it.
How it is treated here
Antidepressants are the usual starting point, and the choice between them is made less on efficacy — which is broadly comparable — than on side-effect profile, your previous responses and what you can realistically tolerate. This is where the minimum-effective-dose approach matters: the aim is the dose that restores function, not the highest tolerated. If a first medication fails, that is information, not failure, and it narrows the next choice.
What to expect, and when
Sleep and appetite usually shift first, often within two weeks. Mood follows later, typically between weeks four and eight, and interest in things returns last. Knowing that order is useful, because the early phase can feel like nothing is happening when something already is.
Questions patients ask
How long will I need to stay on medication?
For a first episode, treatment is generally continued for a period after recovery rather than stopped as soon as you feel better, because stopping at the point of improvement is the most common route back. The plan and the eventual taper are discussed openly, not decided unilaterally.
I have tried antidepressants before and they did not work. Is it worth trying again?
Usually yes, and the details of what happened matter: which medication, what dose, for how long, and what made you stop. A large share of "treatment-resistant" depression turns out to be under-treated depression, stopped too early or never raised to an effective dose.
Will medication change my personality?
It should not, and if it does, that is a reason to change the plan. The goal is to feel like yourself again, not flattened. Emotional blunting is a recognised side effect of some medications and a legitimate reason to switch.
Ready to Get Started?
Book an initial evaluation and take the first step.
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