Therapy for Adjusting to a Health Change

Specialty

The emotional side of a physical change

Health changes rarely stay in one part of life. A diagnosis can bring fear about the future and grief for plans that now look different. Chronic pain or fatigue can wear down patience and mood. Recovery from surgery or an injury can mean depending on others in ways that feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

I have a particular understanding of how physical health and illness affect emotional well-being. Many years working in hospital and state behavioral health systems showed me how often these two sides of care are separated, even though people live them together.

In therapy, we give the emotional side the attention it deserves, alongside the medical care you receive from your physicians.

Sometimes the hardest part is not the diagnosis itself but the uncertainty around it: waiting for results, adjusting to a treatment that may or may not work, or not knowing how much energy tomorrow will bring. Uncertainty is tiring in its own way, and it is worth talking about directly.

• New diagnosis
• Chronic illness or pain
• Recovery and rehabilitation
• Changed abilities

How I approach this work

We begin with what is weighing on you most. That might be anxiety before a procedure, low mood during a long recovery, or strain in a relationship as roles change. We choose a manageable focus and connect it to your daily life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help you notice catastrophic predictions and check them against what you actually know. DBT skills can help you get through difficult moments, such as a flare of symptoms or a hard appointment, without making them harder. Solution-focused work helps us notice what is still possible and what already helps. Motivational Interviewing can support changes your doctors have recommended when part of you feels ambivalent about them.

I do not provide medical advice, and I do not replace your medical team. If questions come up about treatment or medication, I will encourage you to bring them to your physician. I am not opposed to medication, and we can work together whether or not it is part of your care.

We also make room for the feelings that do not fit neatly into coping. Fear, sadness and anger about what has happened are not problems to eliminate. Giving them space in session often makes them easier to carry the rest of the week.

Talking with the people around you

A health change affects the people close to you, and conversations can become harder just when you need them most. You may want to decide what to share at work, how to ask for help without feeling diminished, or how to respond to well-meaning advice that misses the mark.

We can prepare for those conversations and look at the patterns that make them difficult, so you can ask for what you need more clearly.

We can also look at pacing. Many people with chronic illness swing between pushing too hard on good days and paying for it later. Finding a steadier rhythm is often as much an emotional task as a practical one, because it means accepting limits you would rather not have.

Therapy that fits around your health

Because I work entirely by secure video, you can meet from home without adding travel or waiting rooms to your week. You need to be physically located in Connecticut, New York or Massachusetts during each session, with a private space and a reliable connection.

The first step is a free consultation through the Work With Me page. We can talk about what has changed and whether my approach fits what you need.

In network with most major insurance plans, including Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, and a participating provider in the MultiPlan network. Superbills are available for possible out-of-network reimbursement, although reimbursement depends on your plan and is not guaranteed.