People often enter therapy wanting to figure out what has happened to them… how they got into this state of depression, anxiety or hopelessness. They want to know if there is something they did and something they can do to make things better. If we see meaning making as a kind of agency learning, it becomes clear why psychotherapy therapy with its insistence on uncovering and re-discussing the past is effective. Like an infant who learns which actions create what events, so an adult in therapy becomes able to choose attitudes and behaviors which create new situations that fulfill their deeply felt needs and desires.

Contrary to popular belief, depression is not a "normal" part of the aging process, but a treatable mental health condition. Symptoms of depression include feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, helplessness, guilt, isolation and unrealistically negative beliefs about oneself. These feelings not only affect the depressed person, but also their family members and loved ones.

Depression is unlikely to go away by itself, and the guidance of a professional counselor, in addition to a physician, is often warranted. In fact, psychotherapy has been found to very likely help the depressed senior live a happier, more fulfilling life and decrease the risk of suicide.

There are a number of things a loved one or caregiver can do to help alleviate a depressed senior's depression.

These include:
* Making sure the depressed person sleeps and eats
regularly.
* Reinforce rewarding experiences and activities
* Explore spiritual/religious beliefs as a source of
    personal comfort and support
* Allow the depressed person to tell his or her story
   through techniques such as guided journaling, letter
   writing, autobiography or collage.

A counselor or psychotherapist trained in narrative therapy can be particularly helpful for helping seniors find meaning and a sense of integrity and ease their feelings of depression.

Narrative therapy is particularly helpful in helping depressed clients reconcile the inevitable losses incurred over a lifetime and find meaning in those losses in the context of their lives through the telling of the story of their lives. The role of the narrative therapist is to bear witness to the complexity and rich nuances of the evolving story and collaborate with the client in to make sense of his or her losses and find healing and growth through the process of reconciling those losses and acknowledging the contributions they have made in their lives.

Call or e-mail Beth Patterson at 303-817-8571 or bethpatt@mac.com

Good communication will help you Enhance Positive and
Decrease Negative interactions with your partner by enabling both of you to:
   1. Avoid Misunderstandings, Fights and Emotional Distance
   2. Disagree, Yet Argue Respectfully and Constructively
   3. Know When and How to Talk, and When and How to Listen
   4. Resolve Problems Through Discussion
   5. Engage in Frank Discussions in Which Each of You a) Reveals to Your Partner Your Agenda of Needs,Wishes, and Expectations and b) Develops a Clear Understanding of How to Fulfill This Agenda to Your Partner's Satisfaction
   6. Share Your Life With Your Spouse in Love, Companionship and Bonding

The psychotherapy process requires the deliberate joining of two human beings, mainly orchestrated by one, and requiring heartfelt collaboration by both. Breaches in the relationship are plumbed for the information they provide, the two continually surprised and in-spired as they move to new, uncharted views about what the patient needs and how to get there. Indeed there are rules, procedures, and boundaries, but knowing when these guidelines contaminate the therapy's authenticity and sap its power is one of the therapist's most subtle challenges. Therapists constantly work to identify how their craft differs from the commonsensical stuff of everyday relationships. They are not supposed to hug their patients, attend their weddings, or even have the smallest need for their patients' approval.