About Depression and our Depression Treatment Programs

Mark L Lockwood BA(Hons)(psy) Leading life strategist and clinical Director of Center for Healing and Life Transformation in South Africa has helped people internationally discover Depression Treatment Programs that treat depression, burnout, addictions and other disorders and disease in relatively short periods of time. Using new scientifically tested, researched and proven methods of what he calls the Contemplative Intelligence (CQ) process of dealing with mental health issues. Awareness and then simple skills and micro routines and practices formulated into the right package prevent depression from occurring and help people heal, recover and renew their lives. 

The Body-Heart-Mind coherence techniques he uses daily help people shift energy and focus and recovery quickly, deeply and in the long term. Depression is a part of the brain. It has a chemical make up. Genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing this disorder and “if the brain and body can switch them on, the brain and body can witch them off”, says Mark. Although there’s no single cause of depression it can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers, stressors or stimulus’s that can start to allow the dark roots of depression to begin to manifest. For some it is an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries that can be the cause. Different causes can often combine all at once and boom, we have the beginnings of depression in our midst. Life can be difficult, extreme and demanding.

So much so that if any one of us are not mindful we can end up in a state of despair. Depression is actually difficult to diagnose and the criteria we use to make that diagnosis is to somewhat of a degree flawed. People can be in a state of grieving a divorce or the loss of a loved one, or they could simply just have a life or job for that matter that they despise. After all job dissatisfaction is the most common cause of heart attack, the kind of heart attack that you don’t get to walk away from. Having a lousy life and being or feeling trapped in a poor set of circumstances can certainly feel like depression. It may just be that we feel crappy, hopeless or downtrodden. Not necessarily clinically depressed. Still, not that it matters much. Feeling low, empty and hopeless is.  A state that most of us will go through several times in our lives. 

Depression Treatment in South Africa

A Residential Programme That Addresses Root Causes, Not Just Symptoms

Depression is one of the most misunderstood and undertreated conditions in the world — and in South Africa, where 25.6% of employees will be diagnosed with depression during their working lives, it is also one of the most urgent. At CHALT, we have spent over 12 years developing a residential treatment approach that goes far beyond medication management and conventional weekly therapy.

Our private inpatient depression treatment programme addresses the biological, psychological, emotional and spiritual roots of depression — giving clients the tools, insights and genuine healing they need for lasting recovery, not just temporary stabilisation.

Clinical Director Mark L. Lockwood BA(Hons)(Psy) says: “Depression is sometimes not about staying stuck, or settling for life with a disease — it’s about learning from your past and developing your higher self. It’s about living better than well.”

Mark L. Lockwood, BA(Hons)(Psy)

Founder & Clinical Director · 25+ Years in Depression Treatment

Developer of the Body-Heart-Mind coherence approach and the Paradigm Process™ — a 10-step evidence-informed system that has helped thousands of people recover from depression, including treatment-resistant cases, since 2012. Mark holds two degrees in psychology and has worked with thousands of clients across every category of depression and mood disorder.

Treatment Modalities

When some great purpose inspires you, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; Your mind transcends limitation, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents became alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” –

Patanjali

When it comes to answering the question of how Depression Treatment Programs really work, try and avoid the laws of complexity and overwhelm. Try to keep the plan simple. Formulate a plan or get one from someone who has a good one and then use it with all the energy you have. If you do you are more than likely to lift depression and grow. So keep it simple. 

How We Treat Depression Inpatient

Our residential depression treatment programme combines multiple evidence-based modalities into a fully personalised plan. We are not a one-size-fits-all facility.

Body-Heart-Mind (BHM) Coherence

Mark’s signature approach using somatic, emotional and cognitive techniques to restore coherence between the three centres of intelligence — proven effective even for long-standing depression.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Evidence-based restructuring of negative thought patterns, cognitive distortions and maladaptive beliefs that sustain depressive cycles.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

Emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness and interpersonal effectiveness — particularly valuable for depression with personality disorder elements.

Contemplative Intelligence (CQ)

Mark’s proprietary contemplative process integrating mindfulness, meditation and spiritual psychology to move clients beyond the depressed mind state.

Jungian & Depth Psychology

Working with the unconscious mind, shadow integration and the individuation process to heal the deeper roots of chronic depression.

Nutritional Psychiatry

The Neuro-Stack protocol: targeted nutritional support — Creatine, Krill Oil, Lion’s Mane and Whey Isolate — to address the neurological dimensions of depression.

Psychiatric Medication Review

Our 4 consulting psychiatrists assess, adjust and optimise psychiatric medication where appropriate — with a goal of moving beyond dependency.

Somatic & Body-Based Therapy

Movement, breathwork, yoga, exercise and body awareness practices that shift neurochemistry and break the depressive cycle from the inside out.

Nature Therapy

Daily access to Knysna’s forests, beaches and ocean — environments clinically shown to reduce cortisol, restore attention and lift mood.

Conditions Treated

Types of Depression & Mood Disorders We Treat

Major Depressive DisorderSevere, persistent depression significantly impairing daily function

Treatment-Resistant DepressionDepression unresponsive to standard medication and therapy

Persistent Depressive DisorderChronic, long-lasting low mood (formerly dysthymia)

Burnout & Reactive DepressionDepression arising from chronic workplace stress and exhaustion

Depression & AnxietyCo-occurring depression and anxiety disorders

Depression & Addiction (Dual Diagnosis)Co-occurring depression and substance use disorders

Depression in Young AdultsDevelopmentally appropriate treatment for 18–28 year olds

Post-Traumatic DepressionDepression arising from trauma, bereavement or life disruption

For complex dual diagnosis presentations, see our Dual Diagnosis Treatment page. For young adults, see our Young Adults Programme.

“To be depressed is to need deep rest — rest from all aspects of fear, followed by calculated and contemplative new action towards new outcomes.”

— Mark L. Lockwood BA(Hons)(Psy), Clinical Director

We have to step up and step into ourselves. We need to change the way we move and breathe. We need to change our outcomes by completely changing  the way we think, feel and act. We must go beyond the conformed mind that is limited, heavily boundaries and stuck in fighting, flighting and fleeing. Depression is all things fight! This paradigm shift we undertake must be whole and complete. It must be transformative and done by the renewal of body, sinew, mind, synapse and your very soul. Half measures will deliver poor results, less than we as potentially divine beings deserve. 

The future of depression treatment is looking better than it ever has before despite the large numbers of people falling prey to this disorder. Soon we will stop people jumping into the holes they fall into instead of just pulling them out afterwards. Use Body-Heart-Mind techniques and meditations. Get yourself into a program for healing and life transformation. Get to the track or the gym and jog to your psychologists office and get to work on eradicating this enemy from your entire being. You really, really should never stay stuck. No one should, because you can heal your life and make it a masterpiece regardless of your current circumstances. It just depends on how you think about it. You see, either nothing is a miracle or everything is!  

For more information on our Depression Treatment Programs, or to come to the Center for Healing & Life Transformation or to start the online depression recovery course, call +27824424779 or email centerforhealingandlife@gmail.com