Chronic Illness & Chronic Pain Counselling

Living with a chronic illness and/or chronic pain is both physically and psychologically demanding. Managing and living with your condition may present significant changes and challenges in your life including:

• experiencing depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances

• a decrease in once pleasurable and meaningful activities

• loss of work or difficulty keeping up with professional demands

• decrease in self-esteem, confidence and loss of sense of self

• grief and difficulty accepting your diagnosis

• challenges and changes to relationships 

• difficulties managing activities of daily living

• changes to sexual function and satisfaction

• stress and fatigue from managing lifestyle changes to manage your condition

How can counselling help with managing chronic illness & pain?

Your therapist can help you in a variety of ways in coping and managing the social and psychological impacts of living with chronic illness and pain. This might include helping with acceptance of your diagnosis, improving adaptation to your condition, managing stress and burnout, dealing with interpersonal challenges, and creating a long term plan for improving management of your condition. Chronic illness and pain therapy may also include strategies and techniques for improving pain management and increasing positive self-growth. Your treatment approach will be tailored specifically to your needs and individual experiences.

Chronic Illness & Pain Therapy can help you in:

• recognizing and addressing the emotional, mental, and social effects of your illness and/or condition

• addressing feelings of grief & loss

• feeling supported and heard

• establishing strategies for coping with the stress associated with medications, medical appointments, and lifestyle changes

• addressing additional challenges including isolation, depression, loneliness, relationship issues & anxiety

Your therapist can assist you with challenges that extend beyond your illness, like handling expectations from your family and friends, dealing with challenges in the workplace, and contemplating additional life transitions such as a change in career. Everything is open for discussion.

Contact us to get started today with a free initial 20 minute consultation

*Email and voicemail should only be used for the purposes of scheduling or inquiring about services. Sensitive information should not be shared via email as most popular email services are not encrypted, therefore confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Turnpage Counselling & Psychotherapy does not provide emergency or crisis support. If this is an emergency, please refer to the following resources.