With Tracy Douglas: Your GenX Therapist in Janesville, WI, and Online Across Wisconsin and Texas
Depression is a filthy liar.
Depression tells you you’re a fucked up human being who will always be fucked up.
Depression whispers insidiously that life is not worth living and never will be. Its dull roar of hopelessness opens up a bottomless pit where you feel like you’re falling, falling, falling so far away from everyone and everything that ever gave you meaning and joy.
The simplest tasks loom so large and you dread social interaction with every cell of your being because masking is EXHAUSTING! And the biggest lie of all? You’re alone in the void and there is no escape.
As your highly skilled companion, I can help you navigate the depths of this darkness to find your way out. We’ll work together to uncover the roots feeding the sadness so that we can nurture them into tiny shoots of hope.
We’ll make space to honor the information that can come from depression by connecting you with underlying emotion and helping your spirit and body come alive again.
With relentless compassion, patient curiosity, and guided experiencing we’ll see you through this darkness. Emerge back into the light and create a future filled with contentment, peace, and meaning.
Depression was one of the best damn things to ever happen to me. Funny as that might sound, it led me to much needed healing from trauma and to a deeply meaningful career path because my time in therapy led to me wanting to become a therapist myself.
I wholeheartedly believe there’s an inherent wisdom of depression. It can be a protective mechanism that has served us well, but needs letting go of when it’s safe to do so. And it’s an honor for me to get to create that space with my beloved clients.
I’m well-acquainted with the emotional toll of depression that can arise from personal and professional struggles and I’m well-equipped to help you break free, rediscover your joy, and start living a life that’s not just bearable but genuinely fulfilling.
Tracy is easy to trust with her caring and genuine demeanor. Since working with her, I have learned many coping skills. I am currently 12 weeks pregnant with my 3d child and the emotional and physical changes have been demanding on me. Tracy has been understanding and creative in helping me find new ways to cope with my changing life and body.
After giving birth to my 2d child, Tracy was supportive of my needs in immeasurable ways. I dealt with postpartum depression with my 1s child, and I was scared of going through a similar experience with my 2d child last year. Tracy increased my therapy sessions as needed and talked me through all of my fears, doubts, and concerns. She helped me understand how grieving the loss of my old lifestyle, the way my family functioned before, and all of the new changes I was feeling were completely normal and appropriate.
Even though talking through my fears made me feel vulnerable at first (as I shared fears that I hadn't shared with anyone else before), Tracy helped me feel completely seen for who l was. After I allowed myself to grieve, I felt lighter and truer to myself.
Tracy has been an amazing support in my journey as a parent. Her wisdom has helped me work through past traumas as l am sometimes triggered as I parent my children. The most powerful skill l've learned is to be compassionate to myself and my inner child. I now practice talking to myself with the same empathy and sensitivity I have when I talk to my children. I now know that my younger self deserved to be seen, heard and unconditionally loved. I am grateful to get to break generational trauma cycles and to teach my children a different way to love and be loved.
I am Mexican American, and it is difficult to find a trustworthy clinician of color who I can identify with. Tracy has most recently helped me process and navigate conversations about race with a relative. Discussions around race can always be difficult to talk through, but they can especially be taxing when those conversations occur with loved ones.
Tracy understands the nuances that people of color have to consider. After several sessions with Tracy, I feel more confident in what I need in order to feel psychologically safe enough to have these discussions. I am grateful to have Tracy help guide me as I learn how to articulate those needs to loved ones.
I would refer anyone needing support or counseling to see Tracy Douglas as a provider. She is open minded, down to earth, supportive, and most importantly, she truly sees and cares about her patients' authentic selves. She creates an environment for her patients to grow and flourish. I feel immensely blessed and fortunate to get to have her as part of my support system.
When I began to see Tracy, I had lost two of my closest friends in less than a year. I was devasted and they were my go-to supports when I needed to talk. Suddenly, that was no longer there. I was also raising 7 children, some of them were adopted after being in foster care and had severe trauma histories and attachment issues. I was also struggling with depression and poor self-esteem.
During my time working with Tracy, I worked on processing my grief. I learned to manage my own stress and how to care for myself when caring for children with different needs. I have never been able to engage with a therapist in the past as I have been able to with Tracy. She made me feel heard and taught me how important and necessary it is to take care of myself.
Another goal was to improve my self-esteem. I want to feel better about myself and lose weight. In working with her, I was finally able to get to a point where I knew I needed to put myself first and take care of me, so I was a better and more available parent to my children and partner to my husband. I have since improved my physical health and lost 100 lbs.
I am nearing the end of my therapy with Tracy and really attribute her skills, understanding, empathy, and knowledge to helping me get to where I am today. My children are older and through the skills I have learned in therapy I have been able to take care of myself and also support my children and help them through difficult times.
I came to Tracy to work through my anxiety and depression. She has not only taught me specific strategies to help me stay present and grounded when my anxiety seems to be out of control, but also daily management skills for my depression and anxiety. She has taught me communication skills that I have been able to use with my loved ones to open up with them about my struggles.
In being able to speak more openly with my loved ones, it allowed me to feel comfortable enough to bring my husband to some of my appointments. Those sessions helped us learn how to better understand each other’s needs more clearly.
The discussions we have are not always focused on present events; she has also helped me dig deeper to see where my anxiety and depression come from. Tracy has helped me recognize these sources and taught me that while these things happened to me, they don’t define me. Most importantly, she has taught me about seeing myself in a more positive light.
I would happily refer Tracy to family, friends, or anyone looking for therapy services. Her compassion is second to none. You can feel that she truly cares about her patients and doesn’t just go through the motions. She is invested in helping her patients reach their best potential. Tracy has a great ability to connect with people and make them feel at ease when they talk with her. She is an exceptional therapist.
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If you resonate with three or more of the following, a depression disorder might be present.
Click any question to learn more.
Chronic low mood isn’t just a passing phase. When feelings of sadness persist for weeks or even months, significantly impacting your daily life, it could be a sign of depression. Depression is a serious medical condition that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on your physical and mental well-being.
It can sap your energy, disrupt your sleep patterns, and really adversely impact your relationships and career. Don’t underestimate the power of professional help. Evidence-based treatment approaches can provide relief and recovery from depression to guide you towards a path of recovery. Let’s work together to reclaim your joy and create a life filled with vitality and purpose.
Listen, we all experience occasional low moods. But when those feelings of hopelessness and exhaustion persist for months, it could be a sign of depression. Depression is a serious medical condition, NOT a character flaw.
Left untreated, it can have a profound impact on your physical and mental health. I cannot stress enough how you can’t just think your way to happy. There must be healing through care and that’s what we can work on together in therapy. While it might take time, there is ALWAYS hope to orient towards and we’ll use its light to see you through to living the life you want.
Remember the things that used to make you come alive? Hobbies, time with friends, even that movie sequel that you might not actually admit to watching, but you were so excited to see when it came out?
Now, even the mere thought of anything akin to any of that feels exhausting. Or worse yet. Pointless. Please know that if you’ve lost touch with the things that once brought you joy, this can be a sign that depression has you in its grip. Therapy can help loosen depression’s hold so you can reconnect with your vitality, joy, and engagement with life.
The isolation that comes with depression can be horribly damaging. You wonder if you’re to blame, if something you did or didn’t do that caused this emotional black hole. Your harsh inner critic whispers that you’re weak or broken. But depression is not a moral failing.
My view is that, as terribly hard as it is, your depression has information for you.
There are needs and longings that must be uncovered and honored so that your energy can be freed and your zest for life restored. Working together in therapy can help silence self-blame and guide you towards the healing you so richly deserve.
You used to pride yourself on being sharp and focused. You eagerly took on challenges and completed them with ease. But now, even the simplest of decisions feel daunting.
Depression can be like a thick, gray fog clouding your thoughts, making it impossible to focus. It disrupts your ability to think clearly and engage with colleagues, friends, and family. Therapy can help clear the fog and sharpen your focus so you can reclaim your mental clarity and get back to feeling like yourself again.
Absofuckinglutely! How about talking to someone who’s experienced it themselves and found their way out through therapy, too?
Sometimes, you can really only open up to someone who’s gone through what you’re going through, and as a matter of fact, it was my work with my own therapist when I had depression that inspired me to become a therapist, so you’d better believe you’ll have a safe, judgment-free space with me.
Okay. As long as we can establish that there is no “normal”, we can proceed. And if you’re wondering if you can ever have a baseline of meaning, experience of happiness, and peace again… Yes. The answer is yes, you can.
Depression can distort your perception of reality like some terrifying house of horrors mirror. Therapy can help dismantle that mirror and reflect back an authentic version of you complete with healing and resilience so you can rejoin life with a sense of connection and joy.
Oh, how I wish I could give exact answers on this. The journey to recovery is so different for each unique, precious soul. There will be times you leave therapy feeling elated and like you could take on the world and other times you feel like you want to crawl into a cave and winter there.
A couple of things I can tell you is that one, many of my clients tell me they feel relief after our first session and, two, what’s most important is to keep showing up.
During our work together, we will constantly be assessing your mood and energy so we know what we need to do more or less of, and as your therapist, I will be relentless in my commitment to help you find relief and healing.
Yeah, that’s the big fear right there, isn’t it? And another one of depression’s terrible lies, that trying to get help is pointless because there is no getting better.
The thought of living with depression forever is agonizing, however, with the right treatment, most people with depression that I’ve had the honor of working with have experienced significant improvement in their lives.
I’m so thrilled that we’ve had so many advancements in understanding how to help those suffering with depression with somatic treatment, medication management, and narrative therapy to name just a few. Remind yourself that depression lies, depression lies, depression lies, and seek the help that’s waiting for you.
If you see yourself in these questions, don’t wait! Ignoring depression can make it worse. Reach out for help today. As Your GenX Therapist, I can help illuminate your path towards a brighter, happier world for you.
Depression therapy is about more than just managing symptoms—it’s a path toward healing and rediscovering vitality. In therapy, we don’t just mask the darkness. Even those it might seem scary or feel pointless, we walk together into that darkness in order to understand and address the root causes of depression.
Using approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy, we explore how emotions and attachment bonds play into your struggles. We allow for emotional experiencing so you’re not muffled by unresolved pain. Somatic Therapy helps connect the mind and body, allowing you to release tension and emotional blocks stored in your body. Compassion-Focused Therapy encourages self-kindness to reduce self-criticism and create safety for ourselves within ourselves.
Hypnotherapy can also dive deep into the subconscious to uncover hidden patterns and create new ones to orient towards. Together, these powerful modalities guide you toward the lasting transformation and improved mental well-being you long for.
I continue to wish for a crystal ball for me and my clients to peer into so we can get definitive answers to questions like these. Alas, I’ve not yet found it in either the dells of Wisconsin or the gullies of Texas! In reality, the length of depression therapy depends on your unique needs and goals.
Depression therapy sessions usually last about 55 minutes and may occur weekly or bi-weekly. For some, therapy might be a shorter journey, lasting a few months, especially when addressing recent or situational challenges. Others may find it helpful to engage in therapy over a longer period, exploring deeper emotional patterns to effectively address their symptoms.
With methods like Emotionally Focused Therapy to explore your emotional connections, Somatic Therapy to release tension stored in the body, and Hypnotherapy to tap into your subconscious, we focus on creating lasting transformation at a pace that feels right for you.
Yes, be a powerful tool for managing depression symptoms in daily life. I know this first-hand as I went to therapy in the first place to help me with the depression I experienced. Through approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy, you’ll learn to connect with and process the emotions that underlie your depression, helping you understand and release the weight they carry to improve emotional regulation ability.
Somatic Therapy can help you become more in tune with your body, using physical awareness to ease emotional tension. Hypnotherapy can guide you to tap into your subconscious mind, shifting deeply ingrained patterns and enhancing problem-solving skills. Therapy offers practical tools to navigate your daily challenges, helping you experience better relationships, increased resilience, and an overall improved quality of life.
Many people who experience depression also struggle with other mental health concerns, including:
Reach out to ask me anything, book a free consult, or get started today.
In-person therapy in Janesville, WI, and online telehealth across Wisconsin and Texas.
My Janesville Therapy Office is located at:
4539 Woodgate Drive, Suite A8
Janesville, WI 53546
Monday – Thursday
7:00am – 12:00pm CST
Friday
7:00 am – 10:00 pm CST
Saturday – Sunday
Closed
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