Chronic Illness
Whole-person support for individuals and families navigating the emotional toll of chronic illness.
Chronic Illness
At PACE Counselling & Wellness, we recognize that chronic illness impacts far more than the body—it affects emotions, relationships, identity, and daily life. Whether you or your child has been recently diagnosed or has been living with a long-standing condition, we’re here to walk alongside you. Our psychotherapists offer compassionate, personalized support to children, teens, and adults living with chronic illness, helping you regain a sense of agency, reduce emotional overwhelm, and reconnect with what matters most.
We begin with a warm, collaborative intake process to understand your experiences, goals, and what’s been most difficult. Therapy may include:
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): To work with unhelpful thinking patterns and develop practical strategies.
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Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT): To process grief, anger, or sadness that often accompany illness.
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Somatic and mindfulness-based tools: To support nervous system regulation and body-based awareness.
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Trauma-informed care: For those whose illness journey includes medical trauma or invalidating experiences.
All sessions are grounded in compassion, flexibility, and respect for your energy and capacity. We know chronic illness can be unpredictable. That’s why we offer both in-person and virtual sessions, accommodate rescheduling needs, and walk at your pace.
What Therapy Looks Like
Who We Support
Children (Ages 5–12)
For children, living with a chronic illness—like Type 1 diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, autoimmune conditions, or gastrointestinal disorders—can be confusing, scary, and frustrating. They may struggle to understand what’s happening in their body, feel different from peers, or become fearful of medical settings.
We offer:
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Play-based and expressive therapies to help children process emotions and fears.
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Support around medical trauma, separation anxiety, and hospital-related stress.
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Skills for coping with procedures, daily care routines, and social worries.
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Parental guidance to support attachment, regulation, and age-appropriate autonomy.
Teens (Ages 13–17)
Adolescents are navigating independence, identity, and peer connection. When layered with a chronic illness like lupus, Crohn’s, juvenile arthritis, or other conditions, it can feel like life is spiraling out of control. Teens may feel misunderstood, angry, depressed, or withdrawn.
We support teens by:
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Validating their lived experience and giving them space to process complex emotions.
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Addressing isolation, body image concerns, grief, and anxiety about the future.
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Building confidence, communication skills, and emotional regulation tools.
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Encouraging healthy boundaries, peer advocacy, and self-compassion.
Adults
Living with chronic illness—whether visible or invisible—can change every part of life. From MS to long COVID, fibromyalgia to chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune conditions, migraines, cancer survivorship, and more—these experiences can affect your identity, roles, and quality of life.
We offer:
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Psychotherapy to explore the emotional toll of diagnosis, loss, and adaptation.
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Support with grief, depression, anxiety, trauma, and burnout.
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Space to process identity changes, shifts in work and relationships, and medical decision-making.
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Tools for pacing, boundaries, self-advocacy, and nervous system regulation.
How Chronic Illness Impacts
Mental Health
Living with chronic illness often comes with:
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Feelings of grief and loss—for the life you imagined, the body you once had, or the ease you used to feel.
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Changes in energy, mobility, appearance, and cognitive function.
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Strained relationships due to limitations, misunderstandings, or shifting roles.
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Navigating stigma, disbelief, or minimization of symptoms—especially with invisible illness.
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Isolation, burnout, or guilt about needing support.
Psychotherapy provides a space to name and work through these layered experiences—without judgment. Our goal is to support you in reclaiming a sense of self and writing a story that includes illness but is not defined by it.
Family & Caregiver Support
Parents and caregivers often carry a heavy emotional load when a loved one lives with chronic illness. You may experience:
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Ongoing worry, fear, or anticipatory grief.
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The challenge of advocating in healthcare or school systems.
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Guilt, resentment, or exhaustion you don’t feel safe to express.
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Sibling dynamics and strain on relationships.
We offer dedicated support for parents and caregivers—because your wellness matters, too. In some cases, family or dyadic sessions may be part of a child or teen’s treatment plan to strengthen communication and shared coping.
