Depression therapy in Calgary.
Depression isn’t sadness — it’s the slow erasure of what makes life feel like life. Therapy that takes the diagnosis seriously and the person seriously, in equal measure.
Depression has many shapes.
Major depression — persistent low mood, loss of interest, sleep and appetite changes, fatigue, hopelessness.
Persistent depressive disorder — longer-lasting, lower-intensity depression that becomes the baseline.
Postpartum depression — the specific shape depression takes after birth.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) — particularly relevant in Calgary winters.
Situational depression — in response to grief, loss, divorce, illness, or burnout.
Suicidal ideation — our team includes a therapist with ASIST suicide-intervention training and therapists with specialized non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) training.
The methods that work.
CBT — the most-researched approach. Identifies the thought patterns and inactivity loops that reinforce depression, then targets them with behavioural activation and cognitive work.
Yapko-trained depression work — several of our team trained directly with Dr. Michael Yapko in his “Treating Depression Actively and Experientially” approach.
EMDR — when depression traces back to specific trauma or losses.
Emotion-Focused Therapy — for depression that’s defended against grief, anger, or unresolved relational pain.
Solution-Focused & Narrative — rebuilding agency and re-authoring the story.
For moderate-to-severe depression we often coordinate with your family doctor or psychiatrist on medication alongside therapy — network meta-analysis supports the combination of psychotherapy and medication over either alone (Cuijpers et al., 2020).
Depression therapy, asked and answered.
How do I know if I have depression or just feel down?
The clearest signal is duration and impact. Low mood that lasts more than two weeks and starts interfering with sleep, work, relationships, or your ability to do things you used to enjoy — that’s the threshold worth bringing to a consult.
Do I need medication?
Not necessarily. Mild and moderate depression often respond to therapy alone. Severe depression typically responds better to a combination of therapy and medication — we’ll coordinate with your family doctor or psychiatrist if you choose that route.
I’ve tried therapy before and it didn’t help. What’s different?
Often, fit. Sometimes, method. The most common reason therapy “doesn’t work” is that the modality didn’t suit the person — CBT for someone who needed emotion-focused work, or vice versa. We’ll talk about what you’ve tried and where it stalled.
What if I’m having thoughts of suicide?
Tell us at the consult — we’ll match you with a therapist comfortable with suicide-risk work. If you’re in immediate crisis, call 9-8-8 (Canada Suicide Crisis Helpline) or go to the Foothills Emergency Department.
References
Cuijpers, P., Noma, H., Karyotaki, E., Vinkers, C. H., Cipriani, A., & Furukawa, T. A. (2020). A network meta-analysis of the effects of psychotherapies, pharmacotherapies and their combination in the treatment of adult depression. World Psychiatry, 19(1), 92–107. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20701
Twenty minutes. On the phone. Free.
Tell us what’s going on and ask anything — insurance, format, fees, what a first session looks like. You’ll be on the call with one of our therapists, and we’ll go from there together. If we’re not the right practice for you, we’ll say so.