Therapy for Depression
It feels heavy, and it’s not who you are.
Maybe getting through the day takes everything you have. Things you used to enjoy feel flat, sleep doesn’t restore you, and even small tasks feel heavy. Or maybe you’re keeping up on the outside while feeling numb or empty underneath.
Depression is more than sadness. It often reflects a nervous system that has shifted into shutdown after too much stress, loss, or strain for too long, affecting energy, sleep, appetite, concentration, and how you see yourself.
Therapy works on what’s underneath: the unresolved experiences, beliefs, and stress that keep your system stuck, while helping you rebuild energy, connection, and a sense that things can get better.
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
“Why can’t I just snap out of it?”
Because depression changes how your brain and body work, not just how you feel.
It might look like:
Feeling numb, empty, or flat
Losing interest in things you used to enjoy
Exhaustion, or sleeping too much or too little
Trouble focusing or making decisions
A harsh inner voice, guilt, or feeling like a burden
Pulling away from people, even ones you love
This isn’t a personal failure. It’s a system that’s been carrying too much.
UNDERSTANDING DEPRESSION
Sometimes the body shuts down to survive.
When stress, loss, or overwhelm goes on long enough, the nervous system can shift from fight-or-flight into a low-energy, shut-down state. It’s a form of protection, conserving energy when pushing harder hasn’t worked. But it can leave you feeling disconnected, heavy, and hopeless.
Depression is usually shaped by several threads at once: unresolved grief or trauma, chronic stress, isolation, physical health and sleep, and long-held beliefs about your worth. Understanding your threads is part of finding your way out.
Healing means helping your system feel safe enough to come back online.
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
TRAUMA & DEPRESSION
When the heaviness has deeper roots.
Depression is often connected to earlier experiences, especially ones where you felt powerless, unseen, or alone. Years of emotional neglect, criticism, or having to cope by yourself can teach the nervous system to shut down and the inner voice to turn harsh.
When that’s part of your story, healing those experiences can reach what focusing on the present alone can’t.
HOW WE'LL WORK TOGETHER
Steady the ground. Understand the weight. Reignite hope for the future.
Therapy for depression meets you where you are, including the days when showing up is all you can manage. We work with both the symptoms you’re living with now and what’s underneath them.
PHASE 1
Finding Steadier Ground
We start with what helps you get through the day: gentle structure, sleep, small doses of movement and connection, and tools for the hardest moments.
PHASE 2
Understanding What’s Underneath
We explore the experiences, losses, and beliefs feeding the heaviness, including your inner critic, using approaches like IFS, EMDR, and mindfulness-based CBT.
PHASE 3
Reconnecting With Your Life
As energy returns, we rebuild connection with your body, purpose, and people. We work to reignite a passion for what matters to you, so you’re living more fully, not just getting by.
Approaches that may help: Mindfulness-Based CBT · Internal Family Systems (IFS) · EMDR Therapy · Somatic Therapy
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH
Whole-person care, every step of the way.
One method may guide our work, but it’s never the only one. Your past lives in your mind, body, and relationships. I combine evidence-based and mind-body approaches to help you work through the past and move forward with more support, clarity and confidence.
WHAT A SESSION FEELS LIKE
You can come as you are.
Sessions take place by secure telehealth, so you can join from home even on low-energy days. You don’t need to prepare or have the right words. We go at a pace that works for you, and some sessions will be quieter than others.
Showing up is enough. We’ll take it from there.
WHAT CHANGES AS THE WORK UNFOLDS
Life starts to feel lighter.
More energy and motivation for daily life
Enjoying things again, even small ones
A kinder inner voice, with less guilt and self-blame
Sleeping and eating in ways that support you
Reconnecting with the people who matter
A growing sense of hope and meaning
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Lisa Kent, LCSW
CCTP-II · EMDR-C
I see depression as more than a mood. It is often a nervous system that has shifted into shutdown after too much stress or loss. We work gently and at your pace, combining approaches like CBT, mindfulness, and somatic work to rebuild energy, address what is underneath, and reconnect you with what matters.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Depression therapy FAQs
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Everyone has low periods. When low mood, loss of interest, or exhaustion lasts most days for two weeks or more, or starts affecting your work, relationships, or ability to care for yourself, it may be depression. You don’t need a diagnosis to start therapy. If something feels off, that’s reason enough to reach out.
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That’s one of the most common worries, and it makes sense. Sessions are online, so there’s no commute, and we adjust to the energy you have that day. In the beginning, simply showing up counts as progress.
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Closely, and in both directions. Depression affects sleep, appetite, energy, pain, and immune function, and physical illness, chronic pain, and inflammation can contribute to depression. That’s why we look at your whole system, not just your thoughts, and why it can help to check for medical factors, like thyroid problems, with your doctor.
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Yes. Therapy and medication often work well together. Medication can ease symptoms enough for you to engage in the work, while therapy addresses the patterns and experiences underneath. Any change to your medication should be discussed with your prescriber.
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Long-standing, low-grade depression is common, and it can start to feel like just who you are. It isn’t. Often it’s tied to early experiences or patterns that never got attention. Even depression that has lasted for years can change.
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Please reach out for support right away. You can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at any time, or go to your nearest emergency room. You don’t have to be in immediate danger to call. Therapy can help with these thoughts, but if you’re in crisis, please get help now.
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It’s a free, no-pressure 15-minute video call. We’ll talk briefly about what’s bringing you to therapy and what you’re hoping for, I’ll answer your questions about how I work, fees, and out-of-network reimbursement, and together we’ll decide whether we’re a good fit. You don’t need to prepare anything, and there’s no obligation to book.
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Sessions are $200 per hour of work together. I am in-network with BCBS and BCN plans for Michigan residents. For New York and Florida residents, I partner with Mentaya to help you use your out-of-network benefits. Depending on your plan, up to 80% of your session cost can be reimbursed, and all of your claims are handled for you. You can check your benefits here (opens in a new window), or we can review them together during your free consultation.
HEALING THROUGH RECONNECTION
You don’t have to climb out of this alone.
Depression can leave you feeling cut off from yourself and everyone around you. Healing reaches every part of you: your mind, your body, your relationships, and your sense of meaning. You deserve care that sees all of it.
Telehealth for NY, FL, MI residents
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