Therapy for depression and anxiety
Living With a Mind That Won’t Slow Down—or a Weight You Can’t Shake
If you’re feeling anxious, low, overwhelmed, or not quite yourself, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. Many people arrive in therapy because something feels off: your mind won’t slow down, your energy is gone, or you’re functioning on the outside while struggling internally. Depression and anxiety can be deeply uncomfortable, confusing experiences, especially when you can’t point to a clear reason why they’re happening.
In my work, I understand depression and anxiety as meaningful emotional responses rather than problems to eliminate. They often signal that something important has gone unacknowledged, unprocessed, or carried alone for too long.
How I Think About Depression & Anxiety
I understand depression and anxiety as meaningful emotional responses, not just symptoms to manage. They often develop in response to loss, disappointment, or emotional overwhelm—including losses that are hard to name, such as unmet hopes, ruptured relationships, or ways of being that no longer feel possible.
When these experiences can’t be fully felt or made sense of, the mind adapts. Depression may show up as heaviness, numbness, guilt, or harsh self-criticism. Anxiety often appears as vigilance—racing thoughts, urgency, tension, or a sense that something is about to go wrong. From this perspective, both are protective strategies: ways the psyche tries to contain feelings that once felt too threatening, lonely, or destabilizing to hold alone.
Psychodynamic therapy creates space to slow these experiences down and think about them together. As emotions become more understandable and less overwhelming, anxiety and depression often loosen their grip—making room for greater flexibility, vitality, and emotional range.
What Depression Can Look Like Day to Day
Depression doesn’t always mean crying or staying in bed. It often looks like:
Going through the motions but feeling disconnected
Chronic exhaustion or burnout
Loss of interest in things that should feel enjoyable
Harsh self-criticism or quiet shame
Feeling stuck, flat, or emotionally muted
Being highly functional while feeling internally depleted
Many people with depression don’t recognize it as such—they often describe feeling burned out, disconnected, or not quite themselves.
What Anxiety Can Look Like Day to Day
Anxiety isn’t only panic attacks. It often shows up as:
Overthinking and replaying conversations
Difficulty relaxing or slowing down
Constant productivity or busyness
Trouble sleeping or shutting off the mind
Physical tension, headaches, or stomach issues
A sense that something bad is about to happen
For many thoughtful, high-achieving people, anxiety can quietly become a way of maintaining control—until it begins to feel exhausting or unmanageable.
How Therapy With Me Can Help
My approach is psychodynamic and relational. We pay attention not only to what you’re feeling, but why, when, and in relation to whom. Together, we explore patterns that repeat across relationships and life stages, how early experiences shaped the way you manage closeness and loss, and the role anxiety or depression has played in helping you function.
As these patterns become clearer, feelings tend to feel less overwhelming and less confusing. People often describe feeling more grounded, more emotionally available, and more able to respond rather than react.
Looking for a therapist in Walnut Creek can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re already dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, or a sense that something just isn’t right. Therapy is not one-size-fits-all. Research and clinical experience consistently show that the quality of the therapeutic relationship matters more than any single technique.
Finding the right therapist means finding someone you feel safe enough with to be honest, uncertain, and emotionally open. This is especially important if you are seeking therapy for longer-standing concerns such as chronic depression, unresolved grief, or relationship patterns that repeat over time. (You can read more about how grief and mood are connected on my Depression and Grief page.)
How to Know If a Therapist Is a Good Fit for You
Many people worry that they should know right away whether a therapist is right for them. In reality, fit often becomes clearer over the first few sessions.
Signs a therapist may be a good fit include:
You feel listened to, not rushed or managed
Your experiences are taken seriously, even when they feel confusing
The therapist is curious rather than prescriptive
You feel free to speak without having to perform or say things “the right way”