Working with Depression
An Integrative and Creative Approach
Recorded Friday 4 March 2022
With Dr Barbara Dowds
CPD Credits: 3.5 hours
What makes depression so complex, and how can therapists best meet its particular demands? Depression is a multifaceted and layered phenomenon – a set of conditions that vary widely in subjective experience and aetiology. It is difficult to work with because the very psychodynamic patterns that underpin it tend to block therapeutic change.
This workshop will attempt to grapple with these complexities, and ask why such a common and potentially devastating ‘disorder’ has not been eliminated by natural selection.
READ MORE...We will explore how primary origins in childhood adversity manifest in the threat (polyvagal) and stress (cortisol) responses that regulate our reaction to psychosocial and physical challenges. The resulting habitual defensive responses are associated with a wide range of rigid patterns that govern the sense of self-and-other, and the experience of relationships; that cement shame, guilt, grief or anxiety in place, while inhibiting/repressing other feelings such as anger, curiosity or aliveness.
What makes working with depressed clients particularly demanding is that trust, hope and flexibility are at a premium. In the next part of the workshop, we will explore some ways of intervening in these rigid patterns through creative approaches such as parts work, body work and art therapy. This can allay the deepening of the depression and assist in developing therapeutic cooperation, thus clearing the way to address some of the deeper childhood issues.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits for 3.5 hours are available as part of the course fee. You will need to fill out an evaluation form and pass a multiple choice questionnaire related to the content in order to receive your certificate.
Access to the Talks On Demand runs for 365 days from the date of purchase.
FULL PROGRAMME
Causes of Depression
The webinar will open with a definition of depression, its selective advantages, comorbid conditions, and its occurrence through the lifespan. We will then go on to explore the causes: primarily adverse childhood experiences interacting with genetic vulnerability. These include: having a depressed mother, major loss, family stress, harsh, abusive, rejecting or neglectful parenting; insecure attachment and emotional dysregulation; intergenerational trauma, and more. However, depression usually remains latent until triggered in adolescence or later life, and we will examine some of the common adult triggers such as subsequent stress or loss.
Q&A
Consequences of Depression and Preliminary Challenges in Therapy
An aspect of depression that makes it especially hard to conceptualise and work with is the chicken and egg problem. We will examine rigid emotional, cognitive, behavioural and nervous system patterns. These are a consequence of depression but, via a negative feedback loop, also deepen it. The first goal in working with depressed clients must be to intervene in these processes, both to derail downward spiralling, and also to facilitate a therapeutic alliance. For many clients, depression is an authentic message from the deep self. Some people don’t see depressive breakdown coming, but present a personal narrative of a happy and successful life. In these cases, the work may include finding what the depression is trying to tell them and answering its call, identifying unconscious motivations and unmet needs.
Q&A
Working with the Fundamental Causes of Depression
It is difficult to offer a prescription for working with depressed clients because the underlying difficulties vary. With some, loss and frozen grief may be the salient factors; with others trauma, often complex PTSD, may underpin their depression; for others, insecure attachment is the primary problem. For some, dysregulation of the stress or threat responses manifests most clearly; for many there is a fragile, false, fragmented or empty sense of self. Of course, these conditions overlap and interact and many clients will present several of them. We will conclude by outlining some principles of working with each of these manifestations of depression.
Q&A