Hello, I hope all is well. my name is Hong Jeong and I’m a therapist in Los Angeles. This is my virtual therapy session #2 with you on how to deal with depression and overcome depression. The main purpose of this video is to give you an experience of therapy session, in hopes of taking care of your mental health and promoting self-healing process. In this video, we are having a session as if we’re exchanging ideas. So I will ask you questions and give you time to think about your answers along with your feelings and thoughts. You can write down your answers on a piece of paper or say out loud if appropriate. Feel free to pause the video if necessary.
Let’s review your progress!
Step #1: Can you go ahead and fill out PHQ (Patient Health Questionnaire)-9? *PHQ-9 is an inventory for the signs of depression such as persistent sadness and lack of interest in life. Your total score indicates the severity of depression.
-Here is a link to PHQ-9: http://www.cqaimh.org/pdf/tool_phq9.pdf
Step #2: How would you describe your mood in the past week?
Step #3: How depressed do you feel on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being emotionally stable and 10 being the most depressed)?
Step #4:Given your interpretation of your mood in the past week, how did you feel physically?
Step #5:Given your interpretation of your mood in the past week. what happened to your overall quality of thoughts when feeling depressed?
*3 components of the overall quality of thoughts include the pace of thinking process (slow, neutral, or fast), the order of thoughts (organized or disorganized thought patterns), and the timeline of thoughts (past, present, and/or future).
Step #6: How much progress did you make on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being no progress and 10 being the most progress)? What is your reason for choosing that number?
Today's session is all about stabilization. It is important to have capacity to cope with depression. I strongly believe that behavioral techniques can be the quickest and most effective tool for mood stabilization. The first behavioral technique is called behavioral activation which is one of wildly used CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) tools. The basic premise behind behavioral activation is that changing behavior patterns can shift emotional state.
Question #1: What behaviors/activities do you engage in when feeling depressed?
Question #2: What behaviors/activities do you engage in when feeling better?
Depression feels like carrying a heavy burden and it is more than just sadness. When feeling depressed, our behaviors also slide into a downward spiral. In order to build an upward spiral, it is important to activate effective behaviors/activities. They could be simply going for a walk, cleaning, getting out of bed, or watching TV. Then you can gradually engage in more difficult behaviors/activities, in order to decrease depression. The next behavioral technique is engaging in value based behaviors. A good way to identify effective behaviors for your mood stability is to raise your awareness around your values.
Question #1: Can you tell me at least 7 personal values? Here is a link to a list of values: https://jamesclear.com/core-values
Question #2: What are the behaviors aligned with your values?
Examples are eating healthy, looking for support from family or friends, going for a walk , writing journal about negative thoughts, etc.
Question #3: How did you feel in the past when engaging in value based behaviors?
Now that you have 7 or more values, I’d encourage you to engage in at least 1 or more value based behaviors per day. Remember, It is imperative to check in with yourself on a daily basis.I suggest you set some time aside to practice these techniques and check in with yourself physically, emotionally, and cognitively. As a result, you will be able to improve mood and develop a healthy lifestyle. In our next session, we will be talking about cognitive techniques. Take care of yourself and do your healing every day. I hope you found this video helpful. Please SHARE, LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to my channel so you don't miss a video.
Email: jeongtherapy@gmail.com
Please schedule your free 20 minute consultation with me!
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911 or go immediately to the nearest emergency room. National Suicide Prevent Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org