Seasonal Depression Therapy in Kernersville, NC

When the Season Changes and So Do You

Not everyone just gets a little blue in winter. For some people, the shift in seasons brings something heavier, a kind of weight that makes getting out of bed feel pointless, that pulls the color out of things you normally enjoy, that hangs around until the days get longer and then quietly lifts, almost like it was never there.

Until next year.

If that cycle sounds familiar, you're not imagining it. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a real, diagnosable form of depression that follows a predictable seasonal pattern. And it's more than just the winter blues.

What Seasonal Depression Actually Looks Like

SAD tends to show up in fall and worsen through winter, then lift in spring. But it's not just feeling a little down because it's cold outside. People with seasonal depression describe:

• Sleeping significantly more but still feeling exhausted

• Craving carbohydrates and gaining weight

• Withdrawing from people and activities they normally enjoy

• Difficulty concentrating or getting motivated

• A heavy, foggy feeling that doesn't seem to have a reason

• Irritability or low-grade sadness that goes on for weeks

• A sense that they're just waiting it out until spring

The tricky part is that SAD is easy to dismiss. It follows a pattern, it lifts on its own, and so people often talk themselves out of getting help. It happens every year. I'll be fine by March.

The problem is that's a lot of lost months. And for some people, it's getting worse each year, not better.

What Causes Seasonal Depression

SAD is tied to changes in light. As days get shorter, disruptions in your body's internal clock, serotonin levels, and melatonin production can throw your mood and sleep off in significant ways. Some people are more biologically susceptible than others. It tends to run in families, affects women more often than men, and is more common the further you live from the equator.

Living in the Piedmont Triad, you're not exactly in the far north, but shorter days and overcast winters still affect a lot of people here more than they let on.

How We Treat Seasonal Depression at JPB Counseling

Seasonal depression responds well to treatment, often better than people expect. The key is finding the right combination for you, because SAD isn't one-size-fits-all.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy adapted for SAD (CBT-SAD) is one of the most evidence-based approaches available. It focuses on the behavioral patterns that keep seasonal depression going, the withdrawal, the avoidance, the way low motivation leads to less activity which leads to lower mood, and gives you practical tools to interrupt that cycle before it takes hold.

Behavioral Activation is a core part of that work. When you're depressed, the things that used to energize you stop feeling worth doing. Behavioral Activation helps you re-engage with your life in a structured, manageable way, not by forcing positivity, but by rebuilding momentum one small step at a time.

Light therapy guidance: while we don't prescribe or sell light boxes, we can help you understand how light therapy fits into a broader treatment plan and what the research actually says about how to use it effectively.

We also work collaboratively with prescribers. For some people, medication is a useful part of managing SAD. We don't prescribe, but if medication is something you're exploring, we'll work alongside your prescriber to make sure therapy and medication are pulling in the same direction.

Working with John Adkins

John Adkins, LCMHC, LCAS is one of JPB Counseling's most experienced therapists for depression, grief, and the kind of low-grade suffering that's hard to name but easy to feel.

John works with adults who are tired of feeling stuck, people who've sometimes been through therapy before and walked away thinking it didn't work. He's direct, unhurried, and genuinely interested in understanding you before offering anything. If you've spent months every year just waiting to feel like yourself again, that's exactly the kind of pattern John is good at working with.

He's currently accepting new clients and sees people both in-person at our Kernersville office and via telehealth.

Our other clinicians, Jessica Beckman, Mette Finn, Josh May, and Jenn Fuqua, also have experience treating depression and mood disorders. If John's schedule doesn't work for you, we can help match you with someone who does.

Insurance and Investment

We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and Medcost. Self-pay options are also available. For more information on rates visit our Investment page.

You Don't Have to Lose Another Winter

You know the pattern. You've probably lived through it enough times to see it coming. This year could be different, not because winter gets easier, but because you're not going into it alone.

We're located at 1617 NC Highway 66 S, Suite 103, Kernersville, NC 27284, serving clients from Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, and surrounding communities, in-person and via telehealth across North Carolina.