Chronic & Terminal Illness Counseling

Finding Meaning, Connection, and Support Through Life’s Most Difficult Seasons

When illness enters your life or the life of someone you love, everything changes. Routines shift, relationships are tested, and emotions can feel overwhelming. Living with a chronic or terminal illness often brings uncertainty, loss of control, and questions about identity, purpose, and hope. You don’t have to face these changes alone.

I have walked alongside individuals and families navigating the profound emotional, relational, and existential challenges that accompany serious illness. My approach is grounded in Family Systems Therapy, which recognizes that illness affects not only the individual—but the entire family system.

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A Systemic Approach:

In our work together, we’ll explore how illness impacts every layer of your life:

Relationships — shifting roles between partners, parents, and children
Communication — how families talk (or struggle to talk) about fear, pain, and hope
Coping patterns — balancing independence with the need for care and connection
Meaning-making — finding purpose and peace even amid uncertainty or loss

By viewing your experience through a systemic lens, therapy becomes a space for your family to strengthen connection, process anticipatory grief, and develop new ways of relating that honor both the challenges and the resilience that illness reveals.

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Support May Include:

Processing the emotional impact of diagnosis or progression
Navigating anticipatory grief and fear of loss
Helping families communicate openly and compassionately
Supporting caregivers coping with fatigue and guilt
Exploring identity changes and redefining meaning and purpose
Integrating spirituality, legacy, and end-of-life reflections

My Approach:

I offer a calm, compassionate presence where all feelings are welcome—grief, frustration, hope, and even moments of joy. Drawing from my experience in hospice care, I understand the complexity of living with the dual awareness of life and mortality. Together, we’ll work toward greater emotional balance, relational closeness, and a sense of meaning that fits your values and story.

You Are Not Alone

Whether you are living with illness, caring for a loved one, or coping with the uncertainty of what lies ahead, therapy can be a place of support, reflection, and healing. Together, we can honor your experience, strengthen your connections, and help you find steadiness in the midst of change.