Hi there, Stuck. Nice to meet you, and welcome to PC.

Having depression is not grounds for taking your children away from you. Do you know how many moms have depression? Lots! Depression is like the common cold of mental health. But it is important for your sake, and also for the children, that you get treatment. PTSD makes it hard to trust people though, doesn't it?

I have kids, and have had depression for about as long as I can remember. Sometimes it got pretty bad. None of the counselors or therapists I went to ever called CPS or indicated that they had cause to. In fact, they were on my side when neighbors called about me for one reason or another (one was mad at me and used my daughter in order to get to me - there were never any investigations where they found any cause to validate the concerns). There was one time that I hurt myself and neighbors saw me, and they called CPS and said that I attempted suicide in front of my kids, which was not true. When the social worker came, I admitted that I was depressed, and when I said that I was in therapy she was fine with that (she did ask for my therapist's name) and never bothered me again. Being in therapy worked in my favor there, don't you think?

I hope that you will be able to get some treatment. In fact, in some states CPS has a budget to help families with needs such as getting therapy or even getting basics like groceries in a pinch. It's not my favorite agency, but they are there to help children and families, and would rather support a parent than take children away when that is feasible.

I hope this helps.

Rap