Are You Depressed?

• Do you or your child have difficulty concentrating, remembering things, and making decisions?
• Have you become sad and tired after giving birth?
• Have you noticed that you or your child are feeling tired and that you don't have as much energy?
• Do you or your child feel worthless, helpless, or guilty? Do you feel anxious, sad, or empty?
• Do you or your child feel as if things are not going to get better, or that you're beyond hope?
• Have you or your child lost interest in activities you enjoy? Have you lost your appetite or are you overeating?
  
  

If any of the symptoms above sound familiar, you or your child may have depression. You owe it to yourself to seek help from a therapist who specialized in depression, like Matthew Lindgren.

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Good News for Depression in Oakland

The good news is that depression is usually very treatable. As an Oakland depression therapist, I help people with depression work through their pain and take steps to feel better again. I use traditional talk therapy techniques as well as empirically proven therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness based therapy, and EMDR. Exciting new research is proving the effectiveness of combining meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, for depression, and I am excited to offer this therapy to my clients.

As a somatic therapist, I am also able to help you work with your body to change the physical symptoms of depression.

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Depression in Adolescents and Teens

Depression can be difficult to detect in adolescents and teens because teens are working through a developmental stage where they need to separate and be different from their parents and caregivers in any way possible as they form their own identity. Some teens who are not depressed will express behavior indicative of depression as a way of being separate and different, and will relate to other kids who wish to distinguish themselves in a similar manner, for example, by being "emo".

Other teens will use these same behaviors to express significant emotional turmoil and distress that suggests serious depression. Adults should always take seriously any expression of a wish to die or commit suicide, as well as behaviors related to self-cutting and mutilation. As with adults and younger children, the physical symptoms of depression tend to be good signs. If you're worried about whether your teen is depressed or not, you should bring your child to see a therapist like myself to help with assessment.

Teens are much better able to verbalize and express their emotions than younger children, and like adults, they can usually self-report their symptoms of depression. If you have a very conflicted relationship with your teen, however, he or she may not be willing to share these symptoms with you.

Teens are very likely to idealize people who are not their parents or caregivers in their quest to become separate and independent. I make use of this tendency by providing a safe and supportive environment that offers unconditional support and respect, so teens can practice becoming the people they want to be. I make sure that teens always know that they are in control and that whatever we do together, we do on their terms.

I teach teens skills that both help with depression and also help them relate better to others socially, such as mindfulness based therapy, and I work actively with teens to serve as positive male role model. In my work through Blackbird Family Therapy, Inc., I organize therapeutic meditation nature trips for teens to teach mindfulness based cognitive therapy and social skills.

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