I had lunch with a friend this week, who’s first question to me was if my practice was full of depressed people since the election. And she was accurate. Many I have talked with are deeply affected by the election and the uncertainties that lie ahead. Vulnerability coupled with a feeling of helplessness is often at the center of these reactions. For those who have have had any experience in their life with an authoritarian parent (one who acts imperiously and without care to the feelings or impact on others), OR, who have been bullied or even abused at various points in their lives, may feel powerless and have difficulties with this transition. At Valley Community Counseling Clinic, where we offer affordable psychotherapy, we believe that therapy can be a place to address the internal and external upheaval brought about by this election.

Depressed feelings brought about by the election can be related to a wide variety of things unique to each person. Understanding where they stem from is an important task for each of us, and requires some mental space to sort out the particular variables that are contributing. Hopelessness and a fearful state can be the result of losing contact with “adult parts” of self that have agency. Depression can debilitate, leaving us isolated and disconnected from our ability to have impact and to be impacted—extreme cynicism and withdrawal is an alternate form of depression for some. But for many, what feels to be at stake, externally as well as in one’s inner world, is too hard to push aside or ignore. We offer a place to address and explore these depressed layers and help you towards a path of growth.