Receiving a significant or terminal health diagnosis, living with chronic illness or disability, or experiencing major life changes can be overwhelming, frightening and isolating.

Living with chronic pain, illness or mental health struggles can make you feel your body or mind has “let you down" and a painful sense of being “different”. Alongside practical challenges, it’s common to grieve the loss of your health, abilities or the future you had imagined.

Sometimes, after years of caring for others, you can lose touch with who you really are. You may feel empty or disconnected, as though the “real you” is missing. You may grieve for the life you could have had and this, in turn, can cause feelings of guilt.

As an integrative counsellor, I provide a safe and supportive space to process these emotions and explore their impact on your sense of self, relationships and daily life. Integrative counselling can be especially helpful for:

• Living with chronic health conditions, disabilities, or ongoing pain
• Supporting loved ones with health challenges or disabilities
• Adjusting to life-altering diagnoses or changes that shift your future plans

Counselling can help you:

• Process grief, anger and fear related to health changes
• Develop coping strategies for stress, anxiety and emotional overwhelm
• Navigate shifts in identity, independence and life roles
• Rebuild confidence, resilience and a sense of agency
• Explore meaning, values and what matters most in your evolving life

While counselling cannot remove these challenges, it offers a compassionate space to feel supported, understood and empowered — helping you adapt, maintain hope, and nurture wellbeing for yourself and those you care for.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will” — Mahatma Gandhi