Depression

Benefits of Depression Counseling & Psychotherapy

Simply put, depression is anger turned inwards. People who struggle with depression usually internalize negative comments by their family, society, friends, etc. and accept them as definitive and completely true. Depression therapy reevaluates faulty thoughts and belief system. Once one becomes aware of the origin of negative self talk they are able to expel it much faster.

Side Effects of Depression

Fatigue
Physical Ailments
Reduced sex drive
Increased or decreased food consumption
Too much or not enough sleep

Treatment

Create a healthy support system
Learn stress coping strategies
Adjust your lifestyle to include exercise, healthy eating, proper sleep hygiene
Identify cognitive distortions
Gain awareness of maladaptive behavior
Stop self-sabotage

Stop living with depression and seek help. It feels like you are all alone, but you are not. I have been very effective in treating depression with individuals who are interested in making a change through the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Call me today to schedule your initial free consultation.

Depression & Its Impact on Relationships

Depression rarely announces itself clearly in a relationship. It does not always look like sadness — and that is part of what makes it so difficult for partners to recognize, and so easy to misinterpret. What a partner often experiences from the outside is not distress but distance. Withdrawal from conversation and connection. A loss of interest in shared activities, intimacy, and the small rituals that make a relationship feel alive. Irritability that seems to come from nowhere. A flatness that reads as indifference, and that can feel — to the partner who is not depressed — like rejection, disengagement, or a sign that the love is gone.

It is not. Depression is a clinical condition with neurological and psychological roots that have nothing to do with how much a person loves their partner. But its impact on a relationship is real, cumulative, and — when left unaddressed — genuinely damaging to both the individual and the partnership they are in.

In my practice, I work with individuals experiencing depression that is affecting their relationship, and with couples navigating the relational strain that depression creates. The work happens on two levels simultaneously. For the individual, we address the depression directly — using CBT to challenge the distorted thinking that maintains it, somatic approaches to address the body’s role in the depressive experience, and where relevant, EMDR to process the underlying experiences contributing to it. For the couple, we work on rebuilding the connection and communication that depression has eroded — helping both partners understand what they have actually been navigating, and creating a shared framework for supporting each other through it.

Depression in a relationship does not have to mean the end of intimacy, presence, or joy. With the right clinical support, it is possible for both the individual and the relationship to heal — and for the connection that depression has dimmed to become, with time and intention, something richer and more honest than it was before.

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Anxiety

Anxiety – that familiar knot in your stomach, the racing thoughts, the persistent unease – can manifest in countless ways and significantly impact our daily lives. While a natural response to perceived threats, it becomes a concern when it overwhelms us, hindering our performance and disrupting our everyday routines. You might experience a constant sense of unease, either generally or tied to specific situations.

The physical sensations of anxiety can be unsettling: a pounding heart, shortness of breath, tremors, dizziness, chest tightness, nausea, muscle tension, and headaches. These physical symptoms often intertwine with worrying thoughts, difficulty sleeping and concentrating, and a dip in self-confidence.

Different Faces:

Anxiety isn't a one-size-fits-all experience. It's often categorized into three main types:

Generalized Anxiety: This involves a persistent and excessive worry about various events or activities, often without a clear identifiable cause. Some describe it as "free-floating anxiety," where the anxious person feels constantly on edge, sometimes even becoming anxious about feeling anxious. Symptoms can include irritability, difficulty concentrating, persistent negative thinking, sleep disturbances, and physical manifestations like excessive thirst, stomach upset, frequent urination, muscle aches, and headaches.
Health Anxiety: Health anxiety is a persistent fear that something is seriously wrong with your health—even when medical exams come back normal. It often involves constant body scanning, Googling symptoms, and seeking reassurance from doctors or loved ones. While these actions might bring short-term relief, they often intensify the anxiety over time. Therapy can help you learn how to break this cycle, tolerate uncertainty, and reconnect with your body in a more grounded, peaceful way.

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Phobias: These involve intense and irrational fears of specific objects or situations, leading to significant avoidance behaviors. You can find more information about phobias at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Panic Disorder: Characterized by sudden episodes of intense fear that peak quickly, often accompanied by physical symptoms like heart palpitations, sweating, and a feeling of losing control.

The Vicious Cycle of Anxiety:

Stressful situations at work or home can easily spill over into other areas of life, triggering anxiety. Similarly, a frightening experience can lead to lingering fear, as seen in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interplay between mental and physical anxiety symptoms can create a challenging cycle. A physical symptom might trigger anxious thoughts, which in turn intensify the physical sensations, leading to a feeling of being trapped. In panic attacks, this cycle escalates rapidly. Even the effort of trying to control it can be stressful, inadvertently fueling the problem.

Strategies for Managing Anxiety:

Understanding how it works – as a combination of physical and mental responses rooted in the "fight or flight" mechanism – is the first step towards regaining control. Here are some helpful strategies:

Relaxation Techniques: While not an instant cure, consistent practice of relaxation exercises like guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation can significantly reduce it over time.
Regular Exercise: Low-impact aerobic exercise strengthens the heart, making it less prone to the pounding sensations associated with it. Exercise also helps release built-up tension.
Dietary Awareness: Reducing or eliminating caffeine, found in many beverages, can help break a vicious cycle as it can mimic anxiety symptoms like increased heart rate and sleep disruption.
Setting Boundaries ("Just Say NO!"): Overcommitting yourself can lead to a build-up of low-level anxiety about multiple tasks, which can be just as overwhelming as intense anxiety about one major issue. Learning to say no is a powerful form of self-care.

Anxiety Management Psychotherapy with Marina Edelman, LMFT

At the practice of Marina Edelman, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Westlake Village, CA, we understand the complexities of anxiety and offer comprehensive and holistic care to help you find lasting relief. Psychotherapy can be instrumental in addressing the root causes, and equipping you with effective coping mechanisms.

Explore Underlying Causes: Uncover the triggers and experiences that contribute to it, including stressors related to work, family, and past events.
Examine Thought Patterns and Behaviors: Identify the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may be exacerbating your stress levels.
Gain Self-Understanding and Insight: Develop a deeper awareness of your personal stress triggers and patterns.
Develop Tailor-Made Coping Strategies: Learn and practice techniques that are specifically suited to your needs and effective for long-term management.

Marina Edelman, LMFT, offers support for a range of anxiety-related issues, including:

Panic Attacks
Generalized Worry
Social
Nervousness
Performance
Shyness
Sexual

Anxiety Counseling & Therapy for Relationships

Anxiety doesn't stay contained to the individual experiencing it — it moves through a relationship. It shows up as the need for constant reassurance that exhausts a partner. As the avoidance of difficult conversations that leaves important things permanently unspoken. As a hypervigilance to tone and meaning that turns ordinary interactions into something to be analyzed and feared. As the withdrawal that a partner experiences as coldness or indifference, without ever understanding its true source.

When anxiety is unaddressed in one or both partners, it quietly shapes the emotional climate of the relationship — creating cycles of pursuit and withdrawal, conflict that seems disproportionate to its trigger, and a chronic low-grade tension that neither person fully understands but both consistently feel.

In my practice, I work with individuals and couples where anxiety — whether diagnosed or simply present — is affecting the quality of connection, communication, and intimacy. Using a blend of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and somatic approaches, we address both the individual experience of anxiety and the relational patterns it has created. That means helping the anxious partner understand their triggers, build genuine regulation tools, and communicate their needs without the anxiety doing the speaking for them. And it means helping both partners understand what anxiety actually looks like in a relationship — so that what has felt like rejection, neediness, or conflict can finally be seen for what it is.

Anxiety in relationships is not a character flaw and it is not a reason to give up on the partnership. It is a clinical pattern with real roots and real solutions — and with the right support, it is one of the most responsive presentations I work with.

Take the First Step Towards Change

Many clients choose to address stress through couples therapy, where we work directly on the relational patterns driving emotional overload.

Contact Marina Edelman, LMFT, today for a confidential consultation.

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Learn More About Marina Edelman’s Services

You can also find more information on her Psychology Today profile: Marina Edelman – Psychology Today. Or explore resources on the AEDP Institute website: Marina Edelman – AEDP Institute

FAQ

Is what I'm experiencing actually depression — or am I just going through a difficult time?

This is one of the most common questions I hear — and one of the most important to answer carefully, because the distinction matters clinically. Difficult periods are a normal part of life, and sadness, grief, and low mood in response to hard circumstances are not depression. It is characterized by a persistent low mood or loss of interest that extends beyond what the circumstances alone would explain, lasts more than two weeks, and begins to impair your ability to function — in your work, your relationships, your daily life, and your sense of yourself. If you are asking this question, it is worth taking seriously. In my 20+ years of clinical experience, the people who are “just going through something” rarely lie awake wondering if what they feel is real.

What does depression actually feel like — beyond the sadness most people associate with it?

Depression is one of the most misrepresented conditions in the cultural conversation about mental health — and the gap between how it is portrayed and how it actually feels keeps many people from recognizing it in themselves. Yes, sadness is part of it for many people. But it also presents as numbness — a flat, colorless quality to experience where nothing feels meaningful or worth engaging with. It presents as exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix. As irritability and a short fuse that feels alien to who you know yourself to be. As a loss of interest in things that used to matter. As the quiet, persistent sense that you are going through the motions of your life without actually being present in it. In my clinical work, I always assess for the full picture — because treating it effectively starts with understanding how it is actually showing up for you specifically.

How long does therapy for depression typically take?

It depends significantly on the nature and history of the depression. For a first episode with identifiable precipitating factors, meaningful relief is often achievable within twelve to sixteen sessions of consistent work. For recurrent depression, dysthymia — the low-grade, chronic form that many people have lived with so long they mistake it for personality — or depression with significant trauma roots, the timeline is longer and the work is deeper. What I can tell you from 20+ years of practice is that it is one of the most treatment-responsive conditions I work with. The prognosis for people who engage seriously with therapy is genuinely good — and I want you to know that from the outset.

What therapeutic approaches do you use for depression?

I draw primarily from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — which has the strongest evidence base for depression and directly addresses the distorted thinking patterns that both cause and maintain depressive episodes — alongside psychodynamic approaches that help us understand the deeper roots of the depression, and behavioral activation strategies that interrupt the withdrawal and inactivity that makes it self-perpetuating. Where trauma is a contributing factor, I integrate EMDR. Where relationship dynamics are fueling it, I bring in the Gottman Method and EFT. The approach is always tailored to you — because depression rarely has a single cause and rarely responds to a single method.

Can depression be treated without medication?

For mild to moderate depression, therapy alone is often highly effective — and there is substantial research supporting CBT and other evidence-based approaches as first-line treatments. For moderate to severe depression, the combination of therapy and medication is generally more effective than either alone, and I work collaboratively with psychiatrists and prescribers when medication is clinically indicated. I never advocate for or against medication categorically — I advocate for the approach that is most likely to help you specifically, based on an honest clinical assessment of what you are experiencing.

Take the first step toward healing and connection, schedule your consultation today.

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