Therapy for dysthymia

Therapy for dysthymia

If you’ve felt low or emotionally “flat” for a long time, but can still function day to day, you might be living with dysthymia, also known as Persistent Depressive Disorder. It’s not as intense as major depression, but it can quietly affect your life, self-esteem, and relationships over time.

At PLE Health, we offer professional therapy for dysthymia, helping people understand their mood, explore the root causes, and build long-term strategies for feeling better. You don’t have to stay stuck in low mood. Therapy can help you find a way forward.

What is dysthymia?

Dysthymia is a chronic form of depression that lasts for two years or more. It often feels like a “background” sadness or lack of joy, rather than sharp or sudden emotional pain.

People with dysthymia may:

  • Feel consistently low, tired, or emotionally numb

  • Struggle with motivation, energy, or focus

  • Have low self-esteem or feel "not good enough"

  • Experience irritability or social withdrawal

  • Function at work or home, but feel life is a constant struggle

  • Assume “this is just how I am”

Because symptoms can be mild but long-lasting, dysthymia often goes undiagnosed or mistaken for personality traits or stress. Therapy can help make sense of it.

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How therapy can help

Therapy offers more than just support, it offers tools, insights, and a structured path toward change. With the right approach, people with dysthymia often make steady, meaningful improvements over time.

In therapy, you can:

  • Explore long-standing patterns of low mood

  • Understand how early life experiences may be influencing how you feel today

  • Learn to challenge negative self-beliefs

  • Improve emotional awareness and self-compassion

  • Set small, achievable goals for change

  • Rebuild a sense of connection, meaning, and hope

Therapy is not about “cheering up”, it’s about building sustainable, realistic ways to feel more alive and connected again.

What therapy approaches are used?

At PLE Health, our therapists tailor their approach to you. We commonly use:

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – Helps shift long-term negative thought patterns

  • Psychodynamic therapy – Explores the root causes of low mood, often from early life

  • Mindfulness-based approaches – Builds awareness of thought/emotion cycles

  • Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) – Encourages self-kindness and emotional balance

  • Integrative therapy – Blends techniques based on your needs and preferences

Therapy is available online or in person, with weekly or fortnightly sessions depending on what suits you.

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Why choose PLE Health?

Quick
access

No long NHS waiting lists

Qualified
professionals

Skilled in treating long-term, low-grade depression

Gentle and
supportive

We understand this isn’t a “quick fix”—we go at your speed

Therapy for dysthymia

Frequently asked questions:

'The therapist has saved my life, I was in a very very bad place and only getting worse with each day. She has helped me find myself again and given my family their mom back, my husband his wife back and me myself back'. – Client‘They have helped me through this period and in achieving my initial objectives. I appreciated her focus and how, session by session, she assisted me in building my confidence and learning tools that allow me to better approach situations and challenges that I once would have found anxious or overwhelming’. – Client‘I've already told them this, but I am so grateful for the help she's given me over the last few months and I will miss chatting to her. She always made my feel at ease and I feel in a much better place than I was when I started my treatment.’  – Client‘I would like to express my gratitude to them. They are an excellent therapist, and I feel very lucky to have been his patient. I cannot recommend them highly enough.’  – Client‘They were great, felt really comfortable at our sessions, was able to give me tools to help me going forwards.’ – Client‘They were a fantastic therapist. I felt like our chats were really productive & have helped me to move past my trauma. I’m only sad that I can’t speak to them for longer because I genuinely looked forward to our conversations but for now I really appreciate all of the work that we have done. I don’t have the vocabulary to explain how effective & how brilliant she is but safe to say, I could not recommend or endorse them in any stronger terms. Thanks again.’ – Client‘If I need to see anyone in the future, I will be seeking to use PLE Health. She's has been great for me. I feel I have tools that I can use going forward, miss my sessions already.’  – Client‘I benefitted greatly from the sessions and now able to function.’  – Client‘They talked me through everything brilliantly to get my treatment started.’ – Client
'The therapist has saved my life, I was in a very very bad place and only getting worse with each day. She has helped me find myself again and given my family their mom back, my husband his wife back and me myself back'. – Client‘They have helped me through this period and in achieving my initial objectives. I appreciated her focus and how, session by session, she assisted me in building my confidence and learning tools that allow me to better approach situations and challenges that I once would have found anxious or overwhelming’. – Client‘I've already told them this, but I am so grateful for the help she's given me over the last few months and I will miss chatting to her. She always made my feel at ease and I feel in a much better place than I was when I started my treatment.’  – Client‘I would like to express my gratitude to them. They are an excellent therapist, and I feel very lucky to have been his patient. I cannot recommend them highly enough.’  – Client‘They were great, felt really comfortable at our sessions, was able to give me tools to help me going forwards.’ – Client‘They were a fantastic therapist. I felt like our chats were really productive & have helped me to move past my trauma. I’m only sad that I can’t speak to them for longer because I genuinely looked forward to our conversations but for now I really appreciate all of the work that we have done. I don’t have the vocabulary to explain how effective & how brilliant she is but safe to say, I could not recommend or endorse them in any stronger terms. Thanks again.’ – Client‘If I need to see anyone in the future, I will be seeking to use PLE Health. She's has been great for me. I feel I have tools that I can use going forward, miss my sessions already.’  – Client‘I benefitted greatly from the sessions and now able to function.’  – Client‘They talked me through everything brilliantly to get my treatment started.’ – Client