Depression counselling

Depression is not a sign of weakness. It is not something you can think your way out of or resolve by trying harder. It is a real and often debilitating experience that affects how you feel, how you think, and how your body works.

It can look very different from person to person. Some people feel a heavy, persistent low. Others feel nothing at all, numb rather than sad. Some are still going through the motions of daily life, managing to function on the outside, while something inside has barely been present for months.

• A persistent low mood, or a sense of emptiness that does not lift
• Loss of interest or pleasure in things you used to care about
• Difficulty finding motivation, even for things that should feel manageable
• Fatigue, a physical and mental exhaustion that sleep does not fix
• A slowing down of thought, movement, and speech
• A sense of worthlessness, or of being a burden to the people around you
• Difficulty concentrating or making even simple decisions
• Withdrawing from people, even those you care about

If you are experiencing thoughts about not wanting to be here, please speak with your GP or contact the Samaritans on 116 123. Counselling can work alongside this kind of support, not instead of it.

Counselling is not a cure for depression, and it works best alongside medical support when depression is severe. But it can offer something important: a relationship with someone who will not rush you, who will not try to fix you with positive thinking, and who will not treat your experience as something to be solved or explained away.

In person-centred counselling, the goal is to help you feel less alone with what you are carrying, and over time, to understand more about what sits underneath it. Depression often has roots: in how we have been treated, in what we have learned to expect from ourselves and the world, in losses we have not fully grieved. Understanding those roots does not make them disappear, but it can change the relationship you have with them.

Sessions are fifty minutes, weekly or fortnightly. There is no agenda and no homework. Depression often makes it hard to articulate what is wrong, and that is fine. Sometimes simply being in a room with someone who is genuinely listening is where the work begins.

The first conversation is an informal call at no charge. It is a chance to ask questions and decide whether working with Alan feels right. There is no obligation to continue.