Mental health concern Mood
Depression is more than feeling sad. It is a heaviness in your body, a flatness where joy used to be, and a quiet voice that tells you nothing is worth trying. It is also one of the most treatable conditions in mental health care.
Depression is a mood disorder. It is not a personality flaw, a moral failing, or something you can think your way out of by trying harder. It changes how you feel, how you think, how you sleep, how you eat, and what feels possible.
There are different forms. Major depression is when symptoms are intense for at least two weeks. Persistent depressive disorder (sometimes called dysthymia) is a milder but longer form, sometimes lasting years. Postpartum depression and seasonal patterns have their own shapes. All of them respond to treatment.
Depression is not the same as grief, although they can feel similar and can overlap. Grief usually responds to time and connection; depression often does not. If sadness has lasted weeks without softening, and you have stopped wanting things you used to want, that is worth talking to someone about.
Symptoms in clinical language can feel cold. These are some of the moments people describe when they walk into our offices.
You used to love your morning coffee. Now it is just a thing you drink. The flavor is somewhere far away. Everything tastes a little less.
You sleep nine hours and wake up exhausted. Or you cannot sleep at all and stare at the ceiling at 3 am.
You think about texting a friend. The thought of it feels like climbing a mountain. You do not text.
You go through the motions at work and people tell you you are doing fine. They are wrong. You are not fine. You have been faking it for so long that the faking is the new normal.
You are sad sometimes and numb most of the time. The numbness is worse than the sadness. At least the sadness feels like something.
Clinicians look for several of these symptoms persisting for at least two weeks. You do not need all of them to deserve help.
If low mood, loss of interest, or fatigue has lasted two or more weeks, depression is worth taking seriously. You do not have to be barely functioning. The earlier you reach out, the easier the work tends to be.
If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please use the crisis resources at the top of this page. Reaching out for crisis support is not a step backward; it is what those services exist for.
If a previous episode of depression is starting to come back, this is a good time to act. MBCT (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) is specifically designed for relapse prevention in recurrent depression.
If depression came on with a clear cause (loss, illness, big life change), therapy still helps. The cause does not make the depression less real or less responsive to treatment.
For most clients, our team starts with a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and behavioural activation. Behavioural activation is the part that asks you to do small, manageable things you used to enjoy, even when you do not feel like it. Action tends to come before mood, not the other way around.
Some clients need more time on understanding why the depression is here before they are ready for behavioural change. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and internal family systems (IFS) work well in those cases. For clients with two or more past episodes, MBCT becomes part of the plan to prevent relapse.
Most clients see a real shift within six to ten sessions. Severe or long-standing depression takes longer. Many people benefit from a combination of therapy and medication for moderate-to-severe depression; we coordinate with your prescriber.
Several of our approaches work well for depression. The right one depends on what the depression looks like for you.
A practical, well-studied therapy that helps you notice the link between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours so you can change patterns that hurt you.
A therapy for people who have tried to think their way out of hard feelings and got tired. ACT helps you stop fighting your thoughts and start moving toward what matters.
An eight-week programme that combines mindfulness practice with cognitive therapy skills. Best known for keeping depression from coming back.
A therapy that treats your inner world as a system of "parts," each with its own role. Helps you understand the parts of you that conflict, protect, or hurt, and lead them from a calmer place.
Several of our clinicians have specific training and experience with Depression. The right match for you depends on more than the technique, so we encourage you to read the profiles and pick whose voice feels closest to what you are looking for. The first session is free and you can switch if it is not the right fit.
Cognitive behavioural therapy and behavioural activation are first-line treatments for depression per the American Psychological Association and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Both have effect sizes comparable to medication for mild-to-moderate depression and good evidence for severe depression in combination with medication.
A 2021 meta-analysis by Cuijpers and colleagues reviewed 366 randomised trials and confirmed cognitive behavioural therapy as effective across age groups, severity levels, and formats including telehealth. MBCT is specifically supported for relapse prevention in people with three or more past episodes.
Yes, that is one of the most common forms. Depression often presents as numbness, flatness, or a loss of interest rather than visible sadness. Some clients say "I am not crying, I just cannot feel anything." That counts.
Yes. Long-standing depression takes longer to shift than recent depression, but the same approaches work. Many of our clients have lived with depression for a decade or more before starting therapy and still see significant change.
Mild-to-moderate depression often responds to therapy alone. Moderate-to-severe depression often does best with a combination of therapy and medication. Saalvio does not prescribe medication. If we think medication should be part of the picture, we will say so and coordinate with your prescriber.
Good therapy is designed to end. The goal is not lifelong therapy; it is for you to learn the skills and patterns that let you handle future low moods without needing the same intensity of support. Most courses of therapy for depression last three to nine months.
Please tell someone. Saalvio is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger, please call 911. If you are in mental health crisis, please call 988 (the Suicide Crisis Helpline of Canada) or visit your nearest emergency department. A trusted person in your life is also a place to start. We list these resources at the top of every condition page for a reason. Therapy works for depression, including depression with suicidal thoughts, but safety comes first.
Depression is a treatable medical condition, not a character flaw. The stigma is real and you do not have to convince anyone in your family before you get help. Many of our clients keep their therapy private from family for that reason. That is your choice to make.
Clinical depression (sometimes called major depressive disorder) is a persistent low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, and changes in energy, sleep, appetite, or concentration that last more than two weeks and get in the way of daily life. It is one of the most common mental health conditions worldwide and responds well to talk therapy, sometimes alongside medication.
Cognitive behavioural therapy, behavioural activation, and interpersonal therapy have the strongest evidence for depression. Acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy also have good evidence. The best approach depends on the shape of your depression and your past experience with therapy. Your Saalvio therapist will recommend a starting point and adjust as you go.
Often yes. Psychotherapy from a Registered Psychotherapist or Registered Social Worker is usually reimbursable on Canadian extended health plans. Saalvio does not bill insurers directly; we send a detailed receipt naming your therapist, their registration college, and registration number, which most insurers ask for when they process a claim.
Many of these often show up together. Reading more than one page can help you make sense of what is going on, and there is no harm in starting with the one that feels closest.
Book a free first session with one of our therapists, or join the waitlist if you are outside Ontario. There is no obligation to continue after the first session.
