I've been astonished and deeply touched by the level of support and comfort people have received on the forum lately. These incredible outpourings have finally convinced me to turn to you all for guidance in an area that's been a source of trouble for quite some time.

My partner of several years is a wonderful and caring person who unfortunately has been dogged by depression for most of his life. He hasn't always had an easy go of things for reasons I won't fully elaborate on here, but complex family dynamics and the untimely death of his mother are some of the contributing factors. His mom developed terminal cancer and Corey left school to nurse her, believing she had months to go. She hung on for nearly three years and he stayed with her the whole time, assuming much of the household and financial duties in the process.

About five months ago, Corey attempted suicide by overdosing on antidepressants while I was sleeping. The attempt likely would have been successful if I hadn't found him and called an ambulance. His memories of the attempt itself are vague, but does remember feeling intense pain re. his mother's passing and wanting that feeling to stop. He spent several days in the hospital and was referred to staff psychiatrists there, on top of the MD/psychotherapist he had been seeing for about a year leading up to this event. Grief counselling was also recommended.

Several months along in this process, Corey feels the counselling he's received to date has not been effective. His dreadfully low self-esteem has not improved despite efforts to think and act more positively. He says that while he rationally recognizes the fact that his counsellors have been providing reasonable advice, he finds that it hasn't been enough. Remarks like "try not to devalue your own accomplishments" sound like platitudes to him at this point, regardless of the sincerity behind them. He intends to take this issue up with his primary therapist at his next appointment. Both the hospital staff and hospital grief counsellor are leaving things in her hands (the hospital psychiatrist basically just asks if he's depressed each session, and the grief counsellor says she may not be able to work with him if he's already seeing someone else). This chagrins me, as I still believe grief counselling is necessary. The situation is being compounded at the moment by the fact that Corey will be unemployed as of Dec. 4 when his contract with the provincial government expires. Like many of you here, he's been looking for new jobs but has not yet been successful.

And at long last I get to the point of why I'm turning to you all... I know many of you have a counselling background and may be able to offer some more sound advice. Are there certain therapeutic approaches that he and I should be investigating? Is it common for him to harbour these doubts about the therapy process, and is there anything we can do to make things more effective? As you can well imagine, this situation has taken a toll on us, both individually and as a couple. I am currently trying to assess what role I can realistically play in his life, but for the moment I will stick with my decision to stand by him and give him a chance to address these issues and turn things around.

Thank you for reading this long-winded entry and letting me tap into your collective wisdom.