Depression Treatment · Ages 5 and up
Depression is more than a low mood. It is also highly treatable.
Depression can drain your energy, cloud your thinking, and make the things you once enjoyed feel out of reach. It is also highly treatable, and reaching out is a real step forward. With the right support, the things that feel out of reach can come back within it.
What it looks like
What depression can look like
Depression doesn't always look like tears. Often it shows up as some mix of the following.
- Persistent sadness or a sense of emptiness
- Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
- Fatigue, or a heaviness that makes everything harder
- Changes in sleep or appetite
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or numbness
Evidence-based care, tailored to you
Depression can make it feel like nothing will change. But approaches with strong evidence behind them help people move from going through the motions back toward energy, interest, and connection.
Our clinicians use methods with strong evidence for depression, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and behavioral activation, tailored to each patient. When medication may help, therapists and prescribers coordinate directly, an advantage of having therapy, testing, and prescribing under one roof.
We treat depression across the lifespan: children (ages 5 and up), teens, and adults, adjusting our approach to each stage of life.
Our approach
How depression treatment works at LodeStone
A whole-picture, coordinated path, not a one-size-fits-all plan.
Understand the whole picture
We start by learning how depression is showing up for you, what it's touching, and what matters most, not just where the symptoms show.
Use approaches that work
Methods with strong evidence for depression, including CBT and behavioral activation, shaped around your life and your goals.
Coordinate the care
When medication may help, therapist and prescriber work in step. For children, we partner with parents at every stage.
Not sure where to start? Get answers and we will match you with the right clinician.
We provide this care in person at our Hinsdale and Woodstock offices, and by telehealth across Illinois. We are in-network with BCBS PPO, Blue Choice, Aetna, Medicare, and United Behavioral Health, and we verify your benefits before your first visit.
A closer look
Understanding depression, and why reaching out matters
Depression is more than a sad mood. It's a whole-body condition that dims energy, appetite, sleep, concentration, and the ability to feel pleasure at all. It is not a weakness or a failure of will, and you cannot simply decide your way out of it. What you can do is get treatment that works, and treatment for depression works well.
More than a rough patch
Everyone has hard weeks. It may be depression when the low mood or the numbness is there most of the day, nearly every day, for two weeks or more, and when things you used to enjoy have stopped mattering. One of depression's cruelest tricks is convincing you that nothing will help and you're not worth helping. That thought is a symptom, not a fact, and it's often the first thing to lift in treatment.
Depression at every age
In children and teens, depression often wears a disguise: irritability rather than sadness, slipping grades, or withdrawing from friends and activities. In adults it can look like exhaustion, aches, short patience, and going through the motions. Our clinicians treat depression from age five through adulthood, shaping the approach to each stage of life.
Your first steps
What to expect when you start
When you're depressed, starting anything feels like a mountain. So we keep the first steps small, clear, and mostly on us.
Before your first visit
Start with the get-answers form or a phone call, whichever is easier today. We'll match you with a clinician who fits your needs and schedule and verify your insurance benefits before you're seen, so cost is never a surprise.
Your first session
It's a conversation, not an evaluation you can fail. Your clinician will ask what the days have been like and what you'd want back. You don't have to perform being okay, and you don't have to explain everything at once.
Pace and progress
Most people begin weekly. Behavioral activation starts with small, doable wins that begin restoring energy early, while CBT works on the thinking depression distorts. Progress is reviewed openly, and sessions taper as you improve.
Good to know
Depression treatment: frequently asked questions
How do I know it's depression and not just a rough patch?+
Length and reach are the clues. A rough patch eases in days and lifts with good news; depression hangs on for two weeks or more, colors most of the day, and pulls the enjoyment out of things you used to care about. If you're unsure, that's a fine question to bring to a first session, and our clinicians can also provide diagnostic testing when a formal answer matters.
How long does depression treatment take?+
It depends on how deep and how long-standing the depression is, but the approaches we use, CBT and behavioral activation, are among the best studied there are, and many people feel genuine movement within the first two to three months. You and your clinician will track progress together, so the plan is always visible.
Do you treat depression in children and teens?+
Yes, starting at age five. Because young people often show depression as irritability or withdrawal rather than sadness, parents are frequently the first to sense something is wrong. We involve parents throughout, and for younger children we weave the work into play therapy.
Do I need therapy, medication, or both?+
Many people do well with therapy alone; for moderate to severe depression, the combination often works best. It's a decision you make with your clinicians, not a prerequisite. Because prescribers and therapists share one roof here, adding medication later doesn't mean starting over somewhere new.
Will my insurance cover depression treatment?+
We are in-network with BCBS PPO, Blue Choice, Aetna, Medicare, and United Behavioral Health, and we verify your benefits before your first visit so you know exactly what to expect.