Depression Therapy in Denver

We track it with two questionnaires and a plan review around session 8, or sooner if needed. The PHQ-9 and the Gotland Male Depression Scale come with your intake paperwork, and follow-ups go out regularly. At the review, we read your scores alongside your sleep, temper and time with people. If it isn't helping, we change the approach, the therapist or how often you come.

Yes, it's confidential: we don't tell your employer or your doctor anything without your written permission, subject to standard legal and safety exceptions. If you want us to coordinate with your doctor or a psychiatrist, you sign a release first, and it spells out what can be shared. Our Notice of Privacy Practices lists the exceptions. You can ask about any of it on the 15-minute consult.

Yes, and for many men we see, anger is how depression shows up first. By standard criteria, a federal survey found major depression more often in women. On an expanded research measure that added anger, substance use and risk-taking, another national survey found similar rates for both. Drinking to take the edge off can be part of the same picture, and we look at all of it at intake.

No single therapy works best for everyone, and fit with your therapist matters too. Behavioral activation and CBT are common starting points; EMDR can fit when past experiences feed the depression, and DBT skills help with irritability and shutting down. Look for a therapist who explains the plan, gives honest feedback and checks whether it's working. If an approach isn't helping by the session-8 review, we change it.

No, we don't prescribe, so depression counseling here is psychotherapy. Some men do well with therapy alone, and some do better with both. If medication might help, we refer you to a psychiatrist and, with your written permission, coordinate care so everyone works from the same plan. Whether to try medication stays your decision.

There's no set number of sessions; it depends on how long the depression has been around and what's driving it. Sessions usually start weekly and space out as things improve. Around session 8 you review progress with your therapist, and you decide together when to taper. If your schedule changes, we adjust with you.

Depression can come back, and if it does, you can book directly with your therapist again without starting over. Before you finish, we can map your early warning signs, like sleep slipping or plans getting skipped. In pooled data, the full eight-week MBCT program lowered relapse risk, and we use its skills in regular therapy. Our article on why depression keeps coming back covers what to watch for.