When you’re facing a serious illness, genetic diagnosis, or life-limiting condition, the questions that arise go far beyond medical treatment. How do you find meaning when your body feels like it’s betraying you? How do you make decisions about genetic testing that could change everything? How do you live fully when time feels limited? These aren’t just medical questions—they’re deeply human ones that deserve thoughtful, experienced support.
Having worked with thousands of individuals navigating these profound challenges, I understand that serious illness affects not just your body, but your sense of identity, purpose, and hope for the future. My approach combines evidence-based therapeutic methods with deep personal understanding—including my own experience living with congenital physical differences, missing fingers from birth—to help you discover what Viktor Frankl called “tragic optimism”: the ability to find meaning and maintain hope even in the face of unavoidable suffering.
When Standard Support Isn’t Enough
Serious illness creates unique psychological challenges that general counseling often doesn’t address. You might be struggling with questions like: What’s the point of planning for the future when everything feels uncertain? How do you tell your children about a hereditary condition they might inherit? How do you maintain relationships when chronic pain makes you feel like a burden? How do you make peace with considering end-of-life options when suffering becomes unbearable?
These situations require specialized understanding that goes beyond traditional therapy approaches. They need someone who recognizes that finding meaning in limitation isn’t about positive thinking—it’s about discovering authentic sources of purpose that can sustain you through the most difficult circumstances.
Meaning-Centered Therapy for Chronic Illness and Serious Health Conditions
My chronic illness therapy approach is grounded in extensive research on meaning in life, combined with practical experience supporting individuals through some of life’s most challenging circumstances. Rather than focusing solely on symptom management or acceptance, we work together to identify sources of meaning that remain available to you despite physical limitations.
This isn’t about pretending your condition doesn’t matter or finding silver linings in suffering. Instead, we explore how you can live authentically and purposefully within the reality of your situation. Through meaning-centered therapy for chronic illness, many clients discover that their condition, while unwanted, can become a pathway to deeper understanding of what truly matters to them.
Conditions and Situations I Specialize In:
Cancer and Life-Threatening Illnesses: Whether you’re newly diagnosed, in treatment, or facing recurrence, existential therapy for cancer patients addresses the profound questions that arise when confronting mortality. We explore how to live meaningfully during treatment, make decisions aligned with your values, and find purpose that transcends your diagnosis.
Chronic Pain and Long-Term Conditions: Living with persistent pain or conditions like fibromyalgia, arthritis, or autoimmune disorders requires developing new relationships with your body and capabilities. Together, we explore how to maintain identity and purpose when physical limitations change what’s possible.
Genetic and Hereditary Conditions: Receiving information about BRCA1/2 mutations, Huntington’s disease, or other hereditary conditions raises complex questions about family planning, preventive measures, and living with uncertainty. Our genetic disease counseling helps you process this information and make decisions that align with your values and life goals.
Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Recovery: Heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events often trigger existential questioning about lifestyle, priorities, and mortality. We work together to rebuild meaning and purpose in your changed circumstances.
Congenital Differences and Physical Disabilities: Having lived with physical differences myself, I bring personal understanding to the unique challenges of navigating a world designed for typical bodies. We explore how to develop authentic self-acceptance while advocating for your needs.
Palliative Care Counseling and End-of-Life Support
When cure is no longer the goal, the focus shifts to living as fully as possible with the time remaining. My palliative care counseling approach helps individuals and families navigate this transition with dignity, meaning, and connection. This work isn’t about giving up hope—it’s about redirecting hope toward what remains possible and meaningful.
For those in the terminal phase of illness, we explore questions of legacy, reconciliation, and spiritual preparation. Many clients find that confronting mortality directly, rather than avoiding it, actually enhances their ability to live meaningfully in their remaining time.
Support for Difficult End-of-Life Decisions
When suffering becomes overwhelming, some individuals consider euthanasia, medically assisted suicide, or other end-of-life options. This decision requires careful exploration of values, alternatives, and the meaning of suffering itself. I provide non-judgmental support for individuals and families grappling with these profound choices, helping you explore all options while honoring your autonomy and dignity.
This work requires exceptional sensitivity and expertise. Having supported many individuals through these decisions, I understand that the question isn’t whether life is worth living in general, but whether your particular life, in your specific circumstances, feels meaningful and bearable to you.
The Power of Tragic Optimism
Viktor Frankl’s concept of tragic optimism—maintaining hope and finding meaning despite unavoidable suffering—forms the foundation of my approach. This isn’t about forced positivity or denying the reality of your situation. Instead, it’s about discovering that meaning can coexist with suffering, that purpose can emerge from limitation, and that hope can be found even in the darkest circumstances.
Through our work together, many clients discover that their illness or condition, while never welcome, has led them to deeper relationships, clearer priorities, and more authentic living. This doesn’t make the suffering worthwhile, but it does make it meaningful.
Beginning Your Journey Toward Meaning
If you’re facing a serious health condition and struggling with questions that go beyond medical treatment, specialized therapeutic support can provide the guidance and understanding you need. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, living with chronic conditions, or facing end-of-life decisions, you don’t have to navigate these challenges alone.
The first step is simply reaching out to discuss how meaning-centered approaches might support your unique situation and help you discover sources of purpose and hope that remain available to you, regardless of your physical circumstances.