Depression Therapy: Treatment for Depression, Stuckness & Numbness

Depression is one of the most common, and most misunderstood, mental health conditions. Whatever form it takes for you, depression is treatable. At Bhava Therapy Group, our licensed therapists offer individualized depression therapy that addresses the full experience, not just the symptoms.

Get Started

What Is Depression? Symptoms, Types, and Signs to Watch For

Feeling sad, low, or lacking energy is a natural part of human experience. But when these feelings persist, deepen, and begin limiting a person’s daily life, they may signal a depressive disorder, a condition that goes well beyond “having a bad week.”

The signs and symptoms of depression vary by person, but the most recognized indicators follow the clinical mnemonic SIG E CAPS — with five or more of these symptoms present for two or more weeks being a significant marker for major depressive disorder:

  • S — Suicidal ideation or recurring thoughts of death
  • I — Loss of Interest in activities that once brought pleasure (anhedonia)
  • G — Excessive Guilt or feelings of worthlessness
  • E — Loss of Energy, persistent fatigue
  • C — Difficulty Concentrating or making decisions
  • A — Changes in Appetite (significant increase or decrease)
  • P — Psychomotor changes — slowing down or restlessness
  • S — Sleep disturbances — too much or too little

Depression can also present as a pervasive sense of numbness, flatness, or feeling emotionally stuck, as if something has shut down inside. For some people, this emotional blunting is more prominent than sadness itself, and it can be just as debilitating.

Types of Depression We Treat

Depressive disorders are not all the same. The most common types include:

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): The most well-known form, characterized by persistent depressed mood, loss of pleasure, and functional impairment. MDD can range from mild to severe and may occur in a single episode or recurrently throughout a person’s life.

High-Functioning Depression (Persistent Depressive Disorder / Dysthymia): One of the most underrecognized forms of depression. A person with high-functioning depression may continue working, maintaining relationships, and appearing “fine” to the outside world, while experiencing a persistent low mood, lack of motivation, and quiet suffering that has often gone unnamed for years. If you feel like something is chronically off but can’t fully explain it, this may be relevant to you.

Seasonal Depression (SAD): A form of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, most commonly emerging in fall or winter when daylight decreases and lifting in spring. Symptoms mirror MDD but are cyclical and tied to environmental light exposure.

Postpartum Depression: Depression occurring in the weeks or months following childbirth, affecting both mothers and, less commonly, fathers. Distinct from “baby blues” in its duration and severity, postpartum depression responds well to therapy and, when needed, medication.

Depression with Anxiety: Depression and anxiety frequently co-occur, creating a presentation that is more complex and more exhausting than either condition alone, oscillating between low, flat states and heightened worry or panic.

Treatment-Resistant Depression: For some people, depression does not respond adequately to initial treatments. Our therapists are experienced in more intensive and integrative approaches for clients who have tried other interventions without lasting relief.

Get Started

Our Approach to Depression Therapy

Depression is not one-size-fits-all, and neither is treatment. Our therapists conduct a thorough assessment before recommending a therapeutic approach, taking into account the type and severity of depression, co-occurring conditions, personal history, and what the client is ready and willing to engage with.

Depending on your specific presentation, your therapist may draw from:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): The most extensively researched psychotherapy for depression. CBT works by identifying and shifting the negative thought patterns, cognitive distortions, that maintain and deepen depressive states. It also addresses behavioral withdrawal, one of the most powerful drivers of depression.

Psychodynamic Therapy: Explores how unresolved emotional conflicts, early relational experiences, and unconscious patterns contribute to depression. Particularly helpful for people whose depression feels connected to a sense of self, identity, or unprocessed grief and loss.

Somatic and Body-Based Approaches: Depression is held in the body as much as the mind. Somatic approaches work directly with physical sensation, posture, breath, and nervous system regulation, particularly relevant for depression characterized by numbness, disconnection, or physical heaviness.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Designed specifically to prevent depressive relapse, MBCT combines cognitive therapy with mindfulness practices that help clients observe depressive thought patterns without being pulled under by them.

Solution-Focused and Gestalt Approaches: For clients who want to focus on specific goals, behavioral change, or the present-moment experience rather than historical exploration.

When appropriate, our therapists also collaborate with prescribing providers around medication. We believe in an integrated approach, therapy and psychiatry working together when both are indicated.

How to Support Someone Who Is Depressed

Depression affects the people around it, not just the person experiencing it. Partners, parents, and friends often search for ways to help without knowing where to start, and without understanding why the person they love seems distant, flat, or unresponsive to the things that used to bring them joy.

Some of the most important things you can do: listen without trying to fix, avoid minimizing (“just think positive”), and gently encourage professional support without ultimatums. Depression is not a choice or a lack of willpower, and the people who love someone with depression benefit from support too.

If someone you care about is struggling, our therapists work with families and partners as part of the broader treatment picture. We can also connect individuals who are supporting a loved one with their own therapeutic space to process the experience.

Get Started

How to relate to yourself

FAQs

Depression feels different for different people. For some, it’s a persistent heaviness, deep sadness, hopelessness, or a sense that nothing matters. For others, it presents as emotional numbness: a flatness, a disconnection from the world, or feeling like you’re watching your life from behind glass. Some people feel irritable and agitated rather than sad. What unites these experiences is a pervasive quality, the feeling doesn’t lift the way normal sadness does, and it begins to erode daily functioning, relationships, and the ability to experience pleasure.

High-functioning depression, often associated with Persistent Depressive Disorder (dysthymia), describes a form of depression in which a person continues to manage daily responsibilities (work, relationships, routines) while experiencing a chronic, low-level depression beneath the surface. People with high-functioning depression often go undiagnosed for years because they appear to be “doing fine.” They may describe it as feeling flat, unmotivated, chronically tired, or like they’re just going through the motions. The suffering is real and treatable, even when it doesn’t look like the stereotypical image of depression.

The most recognized signs of depression include persistent sadness or low mood, loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, low energy and fatigue, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, changes in sleep (too much or too little), changes in appetite, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and in more severe cases, thoughts of death or suicide. Not everyone experiences all of these. Some people’s depression shows up primarily as irritability, social withdrawal, or a general sense of emotional emptiness rather than overt sadness.

Depression can qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it substantially limits one or more major life activities. For some individuals, particularly those with major depressive disorder or treatment-resistant depression, the condition significantly impairs the ability to work, concentrate, or manage daily tasks. Whether a specific person’s depression qualifies as a disability depends on the severity, duration, and functional impact of their condition, and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Genetics play a meaningful role in depression, research suggests that having a first-degree relative with depression increases a person’s risk. However, depression is not purely genetic. It is best understood as a complex interaction between genetic predisposition, neurobiological factors, early life experiences, and current environmental stressors. Having a family history of depression doesn’t mean you will develop it, and having no family history doesn’t protect you from it.

Sadness is a normal human emotion, it is temporary, tied to a specific event or loss, and it passes. Depression is a clinical condition characterized by a persistent low mood that lasts weeks or months, often without a clear external cause, and that interferes with functioning. Depression also involves symptoms that go beyond mood: changes in sleep and appetite, difficulty concentrating, loss of motivation, and a generalized diminishment of the capacity to feel pleasure (anhedonia). If sadness is lingering well beyond the event that triggered it, or if it has no identifiable cause, it may be worth speaking with a therapist.

It varies. For a first episode of mild to moderate depression. More complex presentations, including recurrent depression, high-functioning depression that has gone untreated for years, or depression co-occurring with trauma or anxiety, typically require longer-term work. Your therapist will regularly review progress with you and adjust the approach as needed.

Yes. For mild to moderate depression, therapy alone is often highly effective, and for many people, preferred. For more severe depression, a combination of therapy and medication tends to produce the best results. Our therapists work collaboratively with clients to determine the right approach, and can coordinate with prescribing providers when medication is part of the picture.