Mindful Chronic Pain Management

“This experience helped me trust that I can actually do things to make myself feel good.”

Coping with chronic pain can be debilitating, and people in pain are often dismissed by doctors and family members.

Therapy for Chronic Pain & Illness in New York

You may be getting through work and daily responsibilities while quietly calculating how much each activity will ask of you. Canceling plans brings guilt. Keeping them can leave you depleted. Even rest can become complicated when part of you keeps wondering whether you should be doing more.

Perhaps you’ve spent years seeking answers, explaining symptoms, or trying to be taken seriously. Or you have a diagnosis and medical care, but still need somewhere to talk about how much your life has changed.

I offer therapy for adults navigating the emotional and relational experience of chronic pain and illness. Our work makes room for the frustration, uncertainty, and grief—as well as the parts of your life that you want more space to enjoy.

When caring for yourself becomes exhausting

Appointments, treatment decisions, and advice about what you should try next can make caring for yourself feel like another demanding job. You may know a great deal about your condition and still struggle to decide when to push, when to pause, or how to ask for support.

If you’re accustomed to being capable, dependable, or the person others turn to, needing care yourself may bring up difficult questions. Who are you when you can’t do everything you used to? How do you explain a limit that changes from one day to the next? What would it mean to take your needs seriously without having to justify them?

These questions belong in therapy, too.

How I work

My approach brings together trauma-informed psychotherapy, EMDR training, and substantial experience teaching mindfulness and practicing within contemplative traditions.

In sessions, that means paying attention to your experience with curiosity: what feels demanding, how you respond to yourself when you’re struggling, and what happens in relationships when you need something different.

We might examine the pressure to push through, practice language for a difficult conversation, or explore a mindfulness exercise that fits your preferences and capacity. Mindfulness can be an invitation to notice what is happening without turning it into another assignment to get right.

When distressing medical experiences or other trauma are part of what you want to address, we can discuss whether EMDR fits our work. We do not need to assume that trauma explains your pain.

My approach is also neurodiversity-affirming. For neurodivergent clients, we can consider sensory needs, communication preferences, and the effort involved in masking when exploring what sustainable support might look like.

What we might work toward

Depending on what brings you to therapy, our work may include:

  • Making room for grief, anger, or uncertainty about changes in your health.

  • Exploring guilt about rest and the expectation that you should always be productive.

  • Understanding self-criticism and developing expectations that account for your actual capacity.

  • Preparing to communicate your needs and questions in medical appointments.

  • Navigating boundaries, receiving care, and changes in relationships.

  • Finding room for pleasure, connection, and meaningful choices within the circumstances of your life.

Therapy focuses on the emotional, relational, and stress-related dimensions of living with pain and illness, alongside your medical care.

Support around pelvic pain, endometriosis & painful sex

Pelvic pain can make intimacy, privacy, and conversations about your body especially complicated. You may want closeness while worrying about discomfort, feel pressure to reassure a partner, or struggle to put an experience into words.

I offer space to explore these concerns with adults living with endometriosis, vulvodynia, lichen sclerosus, and other pelvic or vulvar conditions. Our conversations might focus on shame, boundaries, consent, changes in desire, or the impact of difficult healthcare experiences.

The focus is on your emotional well-being and relationships. Medical evaluation and treatment remain with your healthcare providers.

Working with me

I offer private-pay virtual therapy for adults located in New York State, including New York City.

If this approach speaks to what you’re looking for, contact me to arrange a consultation. We can talk about what brings you here, what you hope to work on, and whether my approach and current availability fit your needs.

 

Supporting Individuals Living With:

let’s talk about chronic pain