Grief & Loss
The grief of chronic illness is real and ongoing, with losses of capacity, plans, identity, and possibility. This kind of grief rarely fits the frameworks we have for it, and it deserves a space of its own.
Chronic Illness & Autoimmune Therapy · Austin, TX & New York
Your body changed.
Your inner life
deserves attention too.
Therapy for adults living with chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, and chronic pain - addressing the grief, identity shifts, and relational strain that medical care rarely makes space for. In-person in Austin, TX and telehealth across Texas and New York.
Get in Touch The ApproachThe Approach
What medical care doesn't always make space for.
Living with chronic illness means navigating an enormous amount. Not just the physical management, but the losses that accumulate quietly alongside it. The version of yourself you expected to become. The relationships that have shifted. The exhaustion of explaining something that others can't see.
The work takes the inner experience of illness seriously, not just the functional coping. What does it mean to live in a body you can't fully trust? How do you grieve something ongoing, without a clear endpoint? How does illness shape the way you see yourself and the way you let others in?
Jen brings both clinical training and personal understanding to this work. She is attuned to the ways chronic illness intersects with identity, relationships, and the psychological patterns that can either complicate or support the process of living with ongoing health challenges.
Telehealth is available across Texas and New York, which is especially relevant for clients whose health makes in-person attendance difficult or unpredictable.
Currently accepting new clients →"Chronic illness changes the story you thought you were living. The work is finding a way to live fully in the one you have."
What This Work Addresses
The parts that often go unspoken.
Identity & Self-Concept
When your body changes fundamentally, the story you've told yourself about who you are can come undone. This work explores what remains, what needs rebuilding, and who you are becoming.
Relational Strain
Illness changes relationships with partners, family, friends, and coworkers. The guilt of being a burden, the frustration of being misunderstood, the difficulty asking for what you need.
Anxiety & Health Fears
When your body has surprised or frightened you before, anxiety about symptoms and medical uncertainty is reasonable, and it can also take on a life of its own. Both the reality and the anxiety deserve attention.
Conditions
Who this work is for.
Autoimmune Conditions
Rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, lupus, IBD, MS, psoriasis, Hashimoto's, and other autoimmune diagnoses. The unpredictability and invisibility of autoimmune illness creates particular psychological challenges.
Chronic Pain
Living with persistent pain changes everything, including sleep, relationships, capacity, identity. The psychological dimensions of chronic pain are inseparable from the physical experience.
Other Chronic Health Conditions
Any chronic or ongoing health condition that has changed the way you move through the world, and the way you understand yourself. The specific diagnosis matters less than the experience of living with it.
FAQ
Common Questions
What does therapy for chronic illness actually address?
The grief, identity shifts, relational strain, and anxiety that accumulate alongside a chronic health condition. The parts that medical appointments don't have time for. The work takes the whole person seriously, not just the diagnosis.
Do you have personal experience with chronic illness?
Yes. Jen brings both clinical training and personal understanding to this work, which shapes her attunement to the parts of chronic illness that often go unaddressed in medical settings.
Is telehealth available?
Yes, across Texas and in New York via Attune Psychotherapy. Telehealth can be especially important for clients whose health makes consistent in-person attendance difficult.
Do I need a specific diagnosis to work with you?
No. What matters is the lived experience of managing ongoing health challenges, the psychological and relational dimensions of that, regardless of diagnosis label.
How much does therapy cost?
Sessions start at $175, with sliding scale availability. In Austin the practice is private pay. In New York, Aetna and Cigna are accepted through Attune.
Get in Touch
Ready to reach out?
Location
1706 Nueces St, Austin, TX 78701
Phone
(512) 956-7263
Fees
Sessions from $175 · Sliding scale available · Private pay (Austin) · Aetna & Cigna (New York)
Currently Accepting
New clients in Austin and New York
If you're managing a chronic health condition and looking for a therapist who understands that experience from the inside out, not just as a clinical category. Reach out for a brief consultation.