Chronic Pain or Illness

In today's day and age, we have (somewhat) arrived to a point that its ok to say "you know what, I am not ok. I put on a smile, but I wake up every day with pain(or difficulty with managing my diabetes, or stiff and takes me hours to get out of bed), and honestly it sucks". No one should invalidate that, it is your truth. My work includes learning to co-exist with your diagnosis in a way that you feel like you are living rather than just surviving.

Receiving a medical diagnosis can be life altering. Countless medical appointments, new medications, attempting to maintain some sort of normalcy while feeling frustrated, isolated and perhaps grieving the life you once knew. My own medical struggles and my professional experience have allowed me to connect with my clients and help them move through these difficult moments.

My primary training and practice sites have been in pain clinics, HIV clinics, liver clinics, and primary care clinics. Across those experiences I have developed expertise in treating individuals struggling with a body that is not cooperating. I employ evidence-based treatments like ACT and CBT, but also work hard to address ableism, illness stigma, medical trauma, and other experiences that intersect with one's experience of pain and illness.

Dr. Clendaniel is a pediatric psychology who specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents and young adults with anxiety and health-related adjustment issues. She has particular expertise in pain management and treatment of chronic headache and functional gastrointestinal illness.

You feel like crap all the time, and you’re not sure how much longer you can keep this up. Maybe your doctor brushed it off, or told you to lose weight. Maybe they labeled it as “anxiety” just because you have both a vagina and more than one medical problem. You’re starting to lose hope. I get it. I spent decades without diagnosis or treatment, surviving medical neglect, misdiagnosis, and gaslighting by medical professionals. I felt lost and alone, but you don’t have to. I BELIEVE YOU.

Disability changes your life. Many people live with chronic illnesses, and yet so much is unknown about our health. Just like supportive and affirming medical care, disability-affirming therapy can be hard to find. In therapy, we can attend to grief, identity loss, and shifts in worldview as well as more practical ups and downs of navigating life with chronic illness. It is important to me to bring a disability justice approach into therapy.

Living with illness, disability, and/or chronic pain can leave you feeling isolated as you navigate changing relationships, medical care, stretched finances, grief for what's been lost, fear about the future, experiences of invisibility/hypervisibility, and anger about how you've been treated. I work from a Disability Justice model, grappling with the ways in which our world often fails to provide accommodation and access, and how our lives become shaped by that lack of care and recognition.

Living with illness, disability, and/or chronic pain can leave you feeling isolated as you navigate changing relationships, medical care, stretched finances, grief for what's been lost, fear about the future, experiences of invisibility/hypervisibility, and anger about how you've been treated. I work from a Disability Justice model, grappling with the ways in which our world often fails to provide accommodation and access, and how our lives become shaped by that lack of care and recognition.

I also work with clients who have been diagnosed with one or more chronic illnesses. They often experience symptoms of anxiety or depression due to the toll that the illness has taken on their lives. We work together to develop a plan to decrease their anxiety and depression and to help them cope with the symptoms of their illness. We also work to help them increase their support network, and to become more willing to ask for help from others since this can often be difficult for them.

At least 10% of people with mild acute Covid infection are now thought to fail to make a full recovery from their symptoms and return to their pre-existing level of functioning. Long haulers as they have been colloquially named by the peer community in the US refer to the multi symptom, multi system post viral syndrome. As a former long hauler myself, now mostly recovered, I am working with those who have not in my practice.

I have extensive experience working with individuals who live with chronic, complex medical conditions. I completed my postdoctoral training at a medical center where I worked closely with patients in addition to training and supervising psychology doctoral students in a Behavioral Medicine program. I use mindfulness-based interventions and strategies to help those live rich, meaningful lives despite

Chronic illness, fatigue, and/or pain can be incredibly overwhelming, and isolating. Do you find yourself stressing over self-care, feeling unsupported by loved ones, struggling to balance work, rest, relationships and your passions? Do you feel fragmented from your sense of self and the things that bring you joy? You are not alone! Through mindfulness techniques, nervous system support, and expressive art practices I hope to support you in experiencing more ease, joy, and wellbeing in your life

I have extensive experience working with individuals who live with chronic, complex medical conditions. I completed my postdoctoral training at a medical center where I worked closely with patients in addition to training psychology doctoral students in Behavioral Medicine. I use mindfulness-based interventions and strategies to help my clients find meaning and vitality while living with a chronic health condition.

Fibromyalgia, Food Allergies/Anaphylaxis, Headache, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBD (Crohn's/Colitis), Infertility, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Migraine

It is no secret that chronic pain or illness impacts not only all facets of our lives (work, relationships, etc.), but also all layers of the self (mind, body, spirit/soul). Then, healing should also be holistic and integrative. Through mind-body techniques like mindfulness, yoga, and somatic tracking we will work together on navigating the challenges of chronic pain/illness, while cultivating healing and building a meaningful life along the way.

Dealing with a chronic health condition can shatter your sense of trust in the world, trust of others, and trust of your own body. My purpose as your therapist is not to tell you what you already know. When previously helpful coping strategies are no longer accessible, your body is unfamiliar to you, and your resources are tapped out, I will walk alongside you and help to build much needed supports.

I have had extensive experience and training in working with individuals navigating chronic pain and illness. I've worked with a variety of diagnoses from arthritis to cancer, and believe therapy can give us the tools to take some control back and find meaning again.

Hi, I’m Dr. Catalina. I believe our sexual wellbeing is central to overall health. As a clinical health psychologist for the past 20 years, I’ve worked with individuals affected by the big guns – cancer, death and dying. Through this work, I witnessed that True Authentic Connection is what makes life worth living. Health impacts how we see ourselves and how we connect with others. I address sexual and relationship concerns for individuals and couples impacted by chronic illness

Chronic pain can be so isolating, and can contribute to depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. My approach to pain is multifaceted, including cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and somatic movement. I'll help you identify triggers, develop self care skills, and learn how to regulate your nervous system so that pain will be less intense. I will also offer you deep empathy and compassion, and a safe space in which to be honest about your difficulties.