Therapy for Chronic Illness, Chronic Pain & Medical Trauma in Los Feliz and Los Angeles

What happens to your body can change your life. It doesn’t have to define it.

Living with chronic pain, chronic illness, or the aftermath of a significant medical event can affect far more than your physical health. It can affect your mind: how you see yourself, how you relate to other people, and how you see your future.

There can be grief for the life you had before, anger at what happened, uncertainty about what comes next, or exhaustion from having to explain yourself to people who might not fully understand.

Sometimes the hardest part is figuring out who you are now, how you’re different from who you were before, and how to bridge that gap while building a life around something you never asked for.

Why this work is personal to me

My connection to this work is deeply personal. I’ve lived and experienced that uncertainty, and while my experience is not your own, I know the feeling of having your life change without your consent and having to move forward without the opportunity to go back and change that reality.

That experience is part of what drew me to working with others affected by chronic illness, chronic pain, and major medical events. I approach this work not with only clinical training, but with a genuine passion for helping people navigate a reality they never expected to face.

Together, we may explore:

  • Grief and loss surrounding the life or abilities you had before.

  • Changes in identity and your relationship with your body.

  • Anxiety and uncertainty about your health or future.

  • Medical trauma following an accident, diagnosis, hospitalization, or procedure.

  • Relationships with partners, family, friends who may struggle to understand what you’re experiencing.

  • Anger, isolation, or feeling misunderstood.

  • Creating a meaningful life when things may not look the way they used to.

The goal of therapy is not to convince you that what happened to you was okay or force you to find a silver lining. It’s about making space for what you’ve been through with the focus to live more freely and build an identity separate from what happened to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Medical trauma can develop after a life changing medical event such as illness, surgery, hospitalization, or medical treatment. Even after the immediate danger has passed, you may still feel anxious, on edge, or as though part of you is still living through what happened. Research has found that serious medical events can lead to symptoms of PTSD. Therapy can provide a space to process what happened and begin to feel safer moving forward.

  • Living with chronic illness or chronic pain can affect far more than the body. It can change how you see yourself, your relationships, and what “normal” looks like. Therapy offers a space to process the grief, anxiety, anger, and fear that can come with those changes. Our work may also include grounding and body awareness exercises, which research suggests can help reduce distress and improve how people cope with their pain. The goal isn’t to suggest that pain is “all in your head,” or to make it disappear, but to help it take up less space in your life.

  • Chronic pain can have very real physical causes, and therapy isn’t meant to replace medical treatment. Even when there is a known injury or medical condition, pain can still be present and affect how safe you feel in your body. Therapy can help address emotions that often accompany pain, while helping you find ways to stay connected to the parts of yourself and your life that exist beyond it.

  • Sometimes the medical crisis ends before the emotional experience does. You may be physically recovering while still feeling anxious, angry, disconnected, depressed, or unsure of who you are after what happened. Or you still may be in the middle of it. Therapy offers a space to process the experience and adjust to a life that may look different than it did before.

Let’s work together

In-person in Los Feliz & Los Angeles and virtually throughout California

If you’re interested in working with me, fill out the form and I’ll be in touch to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. We can talk about what brings you to therapy and whether I might be a good fit for you.