When Illness Becomes Part of Your Story

Living with chronic illness or navigating difficult healthcare experiences can affect much more than your physical health. Illness, medical trauma, health anxiety, and experiences within the healthcare system can influence how you see yourself, your relationships, and what you imagine is possible for your future. Sometimes the story of illness can become so loud that it starts to overshadow everything else — your strengths, your interests, your relationships, your hopes, and the parts of yourself that existed before the illness became such a significant part of your life.

Therapy can be a place to step back and look at that story together. We can explore what you've experienced, how you've made sense of it, and the ways these experiences may have shaped how you see yourself. We can also look for the parts of your story that may have become harder to see: the ways you've adapted, the things you've learned, the relationships and values that matter to you, and the moments when you've found ways to cope or keep going despite difficult circumstances.

I also bring lived experience to this work. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager and have worked in the healthcare field providing care. I understand that healthcare experiences aren't simply medical experiences; they can affect your sense of self, your relationships, your sense of safety, and your hopes for the future.

My goal is to work alongside you to understand your experience and make room for a fuller picture of who you are — one in which illness, trauma, or anxiety may be part of your story without becoming the whole story. Together, we can work toward finding ways to live with greater steadiness and meaning, while staying connected to the people, values, and parts of yourself that matter most to you.

I support clients navigating concerns such as:

• Adjusting to a new diagnosis or changes in health
• Living with chronic illness and its impact on daily life, identity, and relationships
• Health anxiety and fear about symptoms or the future
• Medical trauma and difficult healthcare experiences
• Stress, burnout, and emotional challenges among healthcare professionals

You don't need to navigate these experiences alone. Therapy can offer space to make sense of what you've been through and explore what moving forward might look like for you.