Depression

Depression is more than feeling low. It has a way of quietly shrinking your world, one skipped plan and one abandoned interest at a time, until the things that used to give life meaning feel like too much effort to bother with. And the cruel part is that doing less, which feels like the only option when you are exhausted and flat, is exactly what keeps depression going.

Depression can look like:

  • Low mood, emptiness, or a flatness that does not lift

  • Losing interest in things you used to enjoy

  • Fatigue, and everything feeling like hard work

  • Trouble sleeping, or sleeping far too much

  • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions

  • Harsh self-criticism, guilt, or feeling like a burden

  • Withdrawing from people, plans, and activities

How I Work With Depression

In my early years of practice I treated depression using the standard Beckian, Ellis, and mindfulness-based approaches. Then at Oxford I trained under one of the leading researchers in a form of CBT called Behavioural Activation, and it genuinely changed how I work. For the past decade it has been at the centre of how I treat depression, because I find I can be more effective with it.

The idea behind Behavioural Activation is deceptively simple: rather than waiting to feel motivated before you act, we work on the actions first, in a planned and gradual way, and the mood follows. We rebuild momentum step by step, reconnecting you with the activities and people that give your life value, instead of waiting for the fog to clear on its own.

A Method I Use in My Own Life

I will be honest with you: I do not just prescribe this, I live by it. Behavioural Activation is ultimately about building a life organised around what you value, and I use its tools, goal-setting, planning, breaking big things into small doable steps, to shape my own. That is how I have run seven full marathons and visited 105 countries so far, and counting. Planning in this way is not a chore for me; it is the engine that keeps my life moving toward what matters. And it is the exact same engine we use to lift depression: identify what a valued life looks like, break it into small steps, and follow through.

Online and In-Person

I offer both online sessions and face-to-face appointments. When depression makes leaving the house feel like climbing a mountain, being able to start therapy from your own home can be the thing that gets you through the door at all. Online treatment also means I can work with you wherever you are in British Columbia.

Depression Treatment in Vancouver

I offer evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy for depression online and from my offices in Vancouver and North Vancouver. If any of this sounds familiar, please contact us to arrange an appointment. We begin with an initial assessment so we can build the treatment plan around you.

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