Living in a body that sets its own terms can be exhausting in ways that are hard to put into words. Some days feel manageable. Others ask more of you than you have to give. Alongside the physical weight, there may be grief for the dreams and the timelines that you held for yourself. There may also be frustration, loneliness, and the weariness of having to explain yourself again and again.
If this feels familiar and heavy right now, you don't have to carry it alone.
I don't treat illness or pain. That work belongs with your medical team. What I offer is a place to tend to everything else: your emotions, your relationships, the story you're living, and the ways your roles, plans, and sense of self may be shifting. Here, your experience is believed, and every part of you is welcome.
Who This Is For
This is a space for anyone whose body has asked them to live differently than they once imagined. You don't need a name for what you're living with, or proof of how much it hurts, to deserve support.
You may be living with chronic pain, an autoimmune or digestive condition, long COVID, migraines, chronic fatigue, or something that comes and goes in waves. Your condition may be visible to others, or invisible to everyone but you. You may have just received a diagnosis, or you may still be searching for answers after years of tests and appointments. Wherever you are, you won't have to start from the beginning or convince anyone that what you're living with is real.
- Partners and Families
Chronic illness and pain touches everyone who loves you. Couples and family sessions can help you understand one another, share the load, and stay close through the harder seasons.
What You May Be Carrying
Living with a chronic condition is about so much more than symptoms. You might recognize some of these:
- Grief for the Life You Imagined
You may miss the body you once had, the plans you made, or the person you expected to become. This kind of grief is real. It often returns in waves, sometimes when you least expect it. This can be a profound loss, and it's okay to mourn it. Grief like this deserves to be held with great tenderness. Here, you can feel it fully, at your own pace and for as long as it needs, without anyone asking you to look on the bright side. - Not Being Believed
Perhaps you've heard it more times than you can count. "But you don't look sick." "Have you tried drinking more water?" "It's probably just stress." Maybe the doubt has come from friends, family, or even the very providers you turned to for help. Each time your experience is brushed aside, it can leave a small wound, and over time, those wounds add up. You may even begin to doubt yourself. Please know that you know your body, and what you feel matters. Here, you can share your experience without having to defend it. - Masking How You Really Feel
Smiling through the pain at work. Saying "I'm fine" when you're anything but. Pushing through a family gathering, then needing days to recover. Many people living with chronic illness learn to hide their symptoms to avoid questions, judgment, or the fear of being a burden. It's an understandable way to protect yourself, and it can also be deeply draining. Over time, it may leave you feeling unseen, even by the people closest to you. - Energy That Has to Be Budgeted
Some days, you may have to choose between a shower and a phone call, or between finishing your work and sharing dinner with a friend. Some people describe this as spoon theory: waking each day with only so many "spoons" of energy to spend, and knowing that once they're gone, they're gone. Moving through life this way can be heavy and exhausting. It means constant planning, saying no to things you love, and making hard choices that others may never notice. If you've ever felt guilty for resting or for not having more to give, please know that honoring your limits is not failure. It is a profound act of self-respect. - A Shifting Sense of Self
Illness can reach into the very heart of who you are. It may change your work, your roles in your family, the things that once brought you joy, and even how others see you. Parts of yourself you once counted on may feel far away. You may find yourself wondering, "Who am I now?" This is one of the most painful questions a person can face, and it deserves to be met with deep compassion.
So much of our world was built for bodies that can push through, keep going, and ignore the signals to slow down. Many of us were taught, often without realizing it, that our worth is measured by how much we produce. When your body asks you to rest, those old messages can make it easy to feel like you are falling short. But your worth was never meant to be earned. You are still you, even as you change. Here, there's room to grieve who you were, honor who you are, and slowly discover who you are becoming. - When the Systems Meant to Help Make It Harder
Phone calls that go nowhere. Insurance denials. Forms, referrals, and appointments that pile up until managing your health feels like a job of its own. Spaces that aren't accessible, and workplaces that don't make room for needs that change from day to day. For many people, this can feel exhausting, lonely, and discouraging, especially when you're already running low on energy. If you've ever cried in a parking lot after another appointment, or felt invisible to the very systems meant to help you, you are far from alone. These barriers are not a reflection of you or your worth. You deserve support that makes room for you, and here, you'll find it. - Loneliness and Missing Out
The birthday dinner you had to skip. The invitations that slowly stopped coming. Friendships that drifted, not because anyone stopped caring, but because life with illness and pain can be hard for others to understand. You may watch the people around you move forward with plans and adventures while you're doing all you can to get through the day. Even when you're surrounded by people who love you, you can still feel deeply alone in what you carry. That loneliness makes so much sense, and it deserves to be met with kindness. You don't have to be alone in it here. - Worry, Sadness, and Old Wounds
Living with a chronic condition can stir up so much: worry about what lies ahead, a sadness that settles in and lingers, and painful memories of frightening diagnoses, difficult procedures, or years of being dismissed. It makes sense that anxiety, depression, or trauma can grow in the shadow of illness. While therapy can't change your medical diagnosis, tending to these emotional wounds can bring some relief and steadiness, even when your health remains uncertain.
Whatever you're feeling makes sense. It's a natural response to all you've been asked to hold.
The Strengths You Carry
Living with a chronic condition often builds strengths that others may never see. You may recognize some of these in yourself: a deep and steady resilience, creativity in finding new ways to do the things you love, a hard-won understanding of your own body, the courage to speak up for what you need, tenderness toward others who are hurting, and the wisdom to know what truly matters.
Like a tree that grows around a stone, or a dandelion pushing up through a crack in the sidewalk, you have found ways to keep reaching toward the light. You have adapted with remarkable strength and grace. In our work, these strengths lead the way.
A Few Things to Know
- What Our Work Focuses On
Our time together centers on your emotional well-being, your relationships, and how you're living alongside your condition. Your doctors and specialists remain your guides for physical health, and our work is meant to support theirs, never replace it. - Working Alongside Your Care Team
With your written permission, I'm happy to collaborate with your other providers so your support feels connected and whole. - Sessions That Fit Your Body
Your physical comfort matters here. Sit up, curl into a blanket, or rest lying down. Take a pause whenever you need one, to stretch, sip some water, or simply breathe. On harder days, you can join from your bed or your favorite corner of the couch. If your body needs something different on a particular day, just let me know, and we'll find a way that works for you. - Your Words Matter
The words you use to describe your experience are deeply personal. Some people call themselves disabled, some say chronically ill, and others use different words or none at all. Your language may shift over time, and that's okay. I'll follow your lead and use the words that feel most like you.
How I Approach It
- Nothing to Prove
You don't have to convince me of what you're living with. Your experience is believed from the very first moment, so you can spend your energy on what matters most to you, instead of on explaining or defending yourself. - Setting the Mask Down
Here, you don't have to perform being well. You can share how you're truly feeling, without softening it for anyone else's comfort. Together, we can explore when masking helps you, when it costs you, and how to create more spaces in your life where you can be honest about your body. - Finding Steady Ground
When your body feels unpredictable, it can be hard to feel safe anywhere. We begin by helping your nervous system find moments of steadiness and comfort, even on days when symptoms come and go. - Questioning the Stories You Carry
Many of us were taught that our worth depends on how much we can do, and that needing rest means we're not trying hard enough. Together, we look at where those messages came from and decide which ones are truly yours to keep. - Tending Emotional Wounds
We make space for the grief, the fear from frightening medical moments, and the hurt of being dismissed or doubted. With time and compassion, these wounds can begin to heal. - Reclaiming What's Yours
When illness changes the shape of your life, it can feel as if pieces of you have slipped away. Together, we can explore what might be reclaimed: finding your voice again, choosing where your energy goes, reconnecting with what brings you meaning, and discovering who you are beyond your diagnosis. - Living Freely, Even Now
Freedom doesn't have to wait until you feel well. It can look like resting without guilt, asking for what you need, and letting yourself savor the moments that bring you joy.
Tools We May Use
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
To make room for difficult feelings and build a meaningful life around your values, even when your body has its own plans. - Compassion-Focused Therapy
To quiet the inner critic that blames you for your limits, and to grow a warmer, kinder voice that meets you where you are. - Parts Work (Internal Family Systems)
To get to know the parts of you that grieve, push through, or try so hard to protect you, and to offer each one understanding. - Narrative Therapy
To remember that you are so much more than your diagnosis, and to reclaim the parts of your story that illness may have overshadowed. - Emotion-Focused Therapy
To make room for the grief, anger, and fear beneath the surface, so they can be felt, understood, and eased. - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
To notice the worried or self-critical thoughts that can grow heavier with illness, and to find kinder, more balanced ways of seeing yourself. - Somatic and mindfulness practices
To help you find moments of comfort and safety within your body, always at a pace that honors your limits. - Shame resilience
To loosen the grip of shame around needing rest, help, or accommodations, and to remind you that your needs are worthy of respect. - Trauma-Focused CBT
Like tending a garden after a storm, we start by strengthening the roots: skills to calm your body, ease big emotions, and notice your thoughts. Then, at your pace, we walk through what happened, clearing away the beliefs that no longer serve you, so new growth can take hold.
From the Comfort of Home
Meeting by secure video lets you save your precious energy for rest and healing instead of the drive, the parking lot, and the waiting room. Just you, wherever you feel most comfortable, anywhere in Colorado.
What Thriving Can Look Like
Thriving with a chronic condition can look different from day to day. It's a life that feels meaningful and truly yours, even when your body asks you to slow down.
Over time, asking for what you need may come a little more easily. You may set boundaries that protect your energy, with less guilt. You may grieve what has changed and still make room for what's possible. Rain still nourishes the tree. Wind teaches it to bend and drives its roots deeper. Even in the storms, you can keep growing.
Support and Resources
This practice is not a crisis service. If you need help right away:
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 - Colorado Crisis Services
Call (844) 493-8255 or text TALK to 38255 - Immediate danger
Call 911
Take the First Step
You don't have to be in crisis to belong here, and you don't have to have the energy to explain everything at once. When you're ready, let's talk. Your free 20-minute consultation is an unhurried, no-pressure place to begin, and you can join from wherever feels most comfortable.