Chronic Illness
Living with chronic illness can be challenging, sometimes feeling overwhelming, slowing you down, or contributing to anxiety and depression. Yet, this experience may also foster post-traumatic growth, greater compassion, wisdom, and stronger connections with yourself and others. Psychotherapy holds a supportive space to explore the interaction between your body and mind, and your relationship with your illness. It provides practical tools to help you manage your condition with more ease, compassion, and grace.
In my work with chronic illness, I primarily use cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness, and acceptance-based approaches, including:
Relaxation Techniques: Methods like diaphragmatic (deep) breathing and progressive muscle relaxation can ease tension and promote calm. I provide thorough instruction, guided imagery, and mindfulness strategies to help soothe your nervous system and manage stress. When appropriate, biofeedback can enhance awareness of your body's responses, making relaxation more accessible.
Cognitive Techniques: We explore how thinking patterns affect your experience of illness. This involves recognizing and gently challenging beliefs and thoughts about your condition. This process can help shift your mindset and reactions, strengthen coping abilities, and help recover your sense of self.
Mindfulness & Radical Acceptance: Mindfulness helps you become more present and relate to physical experiences with less fear, resentment, or judgment. Radical acceptance encourages acknowledging and working with reality, letting go of unhelpful expectations, and helping you regain momentum where change is possible.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT helps identify what truly matters to you and guides you toward a more fulfilling life, with your condition remaining a part of your experience. We focus on building resilience and engaging in valued activities, shifting energy away from the dominance of your condition.
This journey is about exploring ways to enhance your coping skills and improve your overall well-being. Together, we'll explore gentle and effective strategies that empower you to take an active role in managing the impact of chronic illness. It's an invitation to cultivate a more peaceful relationship with your body and mind, and to find new pathways to engagement and meaning, despite the challenges you face.
Conditions I work with most often include:
Tinnitus (ringing in ears)
Pain Conditions: chronic pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, migraines, endometriosis, complex regional pain syndrome.
Gastrointestinal conditions: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s Disease, Celiac Disease
Autoimmune conditions
Cancer