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Chronic illness & medical conditions

Chronic illness & medical conditions

Counseling for living with a serious or chronic diagnosis, chronic pain, and the depression and anxiety that often come with it, for patients and caregivers.

Schedule an appointment Call (843) 894-0000

A serious diagnosis changes everything at once: your body, your plans, your identity, your relationships, your finances. Living with a chronic condition means managing all of that every day, often while in pain or exhausted, and frequently while feeling that no one around you quite understands. Depression and anxiety are far more common in people with chronic illness, and they make the illness itself harder to manage.

Counseling doesn't cure the condition. It helps with everything the condition touches: adjusting to the diagnosis, coping with pain and uncertainty, sticking with treatment, grieving what's changed, communicating with your medical team and family, and finding a life that's still yours.

What we help with

Adjustment to illness is often diagnosed as an adjustment disorder or, when it's more severe, as depression or anxiety; the DSM-5-TR also recognizes psychological factors affecting medical conditions. Your clinician will say which applies.

Adjusting to a new diagnosis: Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, MS, Parkinson's, autoimmune disease, HIV and other conditions. The first months after a diagnosis are often the hardest.
Chronic pain: Pain that has lasted months or years and the exhaustion, mood changes and lost activity that come with it. Psychological treatment for pain is well established and works alongside medical care.
Sickle cell disease: Support for adults and teens living with sickle cell disease: pain crises, hospital experiences, stigma, and the mental-health toll of a lifelong condition.
Depression and anxiety with medical illness: Treated directly, with attention to how the illness and the mood problem feed each other, and in coordination with your physicians.
Treatment adherence and health behavior: Help with the parts of managing a condition that are about habits, motivation and fear: medications, appointments, diet, movement, smoking cessation.
Caregivers: Support for spouses, parents and adult children caring for someone with a serious illness: the exhaustion, guilt, resentment and anticipatory grief that rarely get said out loud.
Children and teens with medical conditions: Coping with procedures, hospital stays, being different from peers, and the family stress of a child's illness.

How we treat it

Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic illness and pain, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches all have strong evidence for improving mood, function and quality of life alongside medical treatment. We also use supportive and grief-focused work for the losses involved, and we coordinate with your medical team with your permission. Telehealth is available for anyone for whom getting to an office is itself a burden.

When to reach out

The diagnosis is months old and you still can't find your footing
Pain or fatigue is running your days
You're having trouble following your treatment plan
You're the caregiver and you're running on empty
Your doctor has suggested counseling

Schedule an appointment Call (843) 894-0000

Common questions

Can therapy help with physical pain?

Yes. Psychological treatments for chronic pain, such as CBT and ACT, reliably reduce how much pain interferes with life and often reduce pain intensity. They work alongside, not instead of, medical care.

Will you talk to my doctor?

With your written permission, yes. Coordination with your medical team is part of good care for chronic illness.

Can I do this from home?

Yes. All of our clinicians offer HIPAA-compliant video sessions, and many clients with chronic conditions prefer them.

Where to get help for chronic illness & medical conditions

Based on our clinicians' current specialties, this is treated at eight locations:

Closer to Forest Acres, Irmo or Anderson? Call (843) 894-0000; the right therapist may be available by video, or we'll suggest the nearest office with the right fit.

Diagnostic descriptions on this page are summarized in plain language from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR, 2022). This page is educational. It is not a substitute for evaluation by a licensed clinician, and only a licensed clinician can make a diagnosis.

Ready when you are.

Call us or submit a short intake form. A Patient Account Representative will match you with a therapist, and most new clients have their first appointment within a few business days.

Schedule an appointment Call (843) 894-0000