Therapy for depression can help.
Sometimes, depression wears a smile.
It can show up in people who appear to be coping — working, caring for others, even staying light-hearted on the surface. Underneath, there may be numbness, exhaustion, or a quiet sense of heaviness that’s hard to explain.
This kind of low mood doesn’t always mean being unable to get out of bed. More often, it’s a gradual disconnection from joy, a loss of vitality, or the feeling of no longer quite being yourself.
The Hidden Weight of Sensitivity
Many of the people I work with are deeply sensitive, intuitive and empathetic.
But growing up, they may have been told they were “too sensitive” or “too much.” So they learned to hide their vulnerability, to toughen up, to pretend things didn’t hurt.
Over time, this can create an inner split: between who you really are and who you’ve been told to be.
It can leave you feeling like there’s something wrong with you – when in truth, you’ve just never had permission to be fully yourself.
The Hidden Weight of Shame
Shame often lies beneath the surface of depression. It can start early – and stay with us in ways we don’t always recognise.
There’s a big difference between being told “your behaviour is wrong” and being made to feel “you are wrong.”
For many, shame begins in childhood: being teased or bullied, being left out or laughed at, or feeling “less than” because they didn’t have what others had.
Also intergenerational shame can be handed down generation after generation. Shame is something that is kept secret and never spoken about but it is there in the parenting, what is not allowed to be spoken about in the home and the survival skills that are developed to keep it well hideen.
Sometimes, it was simply feeling too ashamed to speak up – and learning to carry it all in silence.
Shame has a powerful physical energy – it can feel like a hot flush rushing through the body, or a freezing sensation that shuts us down. It’s so uncomfortable, most of us will do anything to avoid it.
But when we work with shame gently – especially using EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) — something can shift. We begin to realise how much of that old, buried shame we’ve stored in the body… and how possible it is to let it go.
How I Work With Depression
I’m a Psychosynthesis counsellor and trained EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) practitioner. I combine both to help clients move through the weight and complexity of depression in a grounded, compassionate way.
Therapy for depression and Psychosynthesis
Psychosynthesis offers a way of understanding inner experience through different aspects of the self.
In therapy, we gently explore these parts — such as a part that feels stuck and another that feels guilty, or a part that wants to speak up and another that reacts when it feels misunderstood.
Many people carry distorted beliefs from childhood – about what they’re allowed to feel, say, or need. These beliefs can silently shape our relationships, work, and self-worth – leaving us feeling stuck, anxious, or unseen.
Therapy for depression and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)
EFT is a gentle, body-based approach that helps release emotional tension stored in the nervous system. It works beautifully when words alone aren’t enough – and allows us to process deep emotion in a way that feels safe, relieving, and empowering.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
Together, we’ll create a space where you don’t have to pretend – where your sensitivity isn’t a flaw, and your shame doesn’t define you.
A space where we move at your pace, gently reconnecting you with your voice, your needs, and your sense of self.
I can help – by helping you to see you.
“The wounded inner child contaminates intimacy in relationships because he has no sense of his authentic self.
The greatest wound a child can receive is the rejection of his authentic self.
When a parent cannot affirm his child’s feelings, needs, and desires, he rejects that child’s authentic self.
Then, a false self must be set up.” John Bradshaw
Counselling and Therapy for depression in London Bridge SE1 and Online
First Step
I offer a free 15/20 minute conversation by phone.
We can see if you would like to come for an initial consult and if I think I can be of help to you. If I can, great and we can proceed but either way that first conversation comes at no cost and with no obligation.
If not, then I might be able to recommend someone who may be more suitable.
Disclaimer: These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Cynthia Rao Counselling.
Therapy for Depression
I also work face to face at London Bridge SE1 working with a combination of Psychosynthesis and EFT Matrix Reimprinting
You can either call or email me