Chronic Pain and
Chronic Illness
Evidence-based therapy for coping with chronic pain or chronic illness.
When you feel bad physically, you feel bad emotionally. Maybe you are struggling with…
Chronic pain or illness that interferes with your ability to enjoy your life.
Difficulty sleeping or chronic fatigue that leave you feeling disconnected from your daily activities.
Feeling so overwhelmed by life’s stressors that your ability to exercise, eat well, or connect with friends is in decline.
A recent diagnosis that has left you with overwhelming emotions or rethinking your life, your relationships, and your future.
You’ve tried to cope the best you can. Maybe you…
Slowly let go of more and more activities to manage your pain, but are left grieving for the things you loved or the future you had hoped for yourself.
Have spent countless time and money on medical interventions with unsatisfactory results, and are feeling lost, confused, or frustrated.
Got so swept up in treatments to address the physical symptoms that you never got a chance to address the significant emotional toll it took on you.
Spend so much time worrying about illness recurrence that it is disrupting your life.
My Approach
In the midst of the storm of chronic pain and illness, my approach seeks to help you drop an anchor and stay tethered to that which is most important to you. Together we will identify your values and motivation for showing up as the person you truly want to be amidst these difficulties.
We will practice new coping behaviors that support and sustain long-term improvements in mental and physical health, including improved methods for stress and pain management. We will also work to identify those ways of being that are most important to you, and help you maintain a connection to these values in the face of things that are out of your control.
And in every part of this journey there are strong emotions that deserve attention and space. I will help you process those emotions in a nonjudgmental and safe space where you feel heard and supported.
In the face of chronic illness, my approach can help you cope better with symptoms, feel better physically and emotionally, and help you re-connect to a life of meaning and purpose no matter what.
My Experience
I have trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain and Insomnia, as well as training in Mindfulness-based stress reduction and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain. Much of this training was done while on rotation in the Primary Care - Mental Health Integration clinic at the James J. Peters Bronx VA Hospital.
I have specialized training in motivational interviewing (MI), a therapeutic style that is aimed at increasing your awareness of your reasons for change, and your ability to maintain that change over time.