Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Supports meaningful living while making space for difficult symptoms and emotions.
Book a session ↗Psychological support
Chronic illness and pain support
Persistent symptoms affect far more than the body. Psychology can help you live with greater agency while respecting that the condition and pain are real.
Understanding your experience
What this can feel like.
Chronic illness and pain can alter identity, independence, work, relationships and expectations for the future. Psychological treatment does not mean symptoms are imagined; it addresses the nervous system, emotional load and practical impact of living with ongoing health challenges.
Common signs and experiences
Everyone’s experience is different. You may recognise some of these patterns without experiencing all of them.
- 01Anxiety, grief or low mood related to health changes
- 02Fear of symptoms, activity or further deterioration
- 03Difficulty pacing activity or cycles of pushing and crashing
- 04Loss of identity, independence or valued roles
- 05Strain in relationships or feeling misunderstood
- 06Sleep disruption, medical trauma or uncertainty
How psychology can help
Treatment centred on your goals.
A psychologist will work with you to understand what is happening, what maintains it and which changes feel both meaningful and achievable.
- 01
Process grief, uncertainty and changes in identity
- 02
Develop sustainable pacing and activity patterns
- 03
Reduce fear and distress around symptoms without dismissing them
- 04
Support communication, boundaries and adjustment within relationships
- 05
Reconnect with values and meaningful activity within current capacity
Therapeutic approaches
Modalities that may help.
The best approach depends on your needs, preferences, history and goals. Your psychologist may integrate more than one evidence-based modality.
Pain-focused CBT
Addresses fear, avoidance, pacing and the interaction between pain and distress.
Compassion-focused therapy
Helps reduce self-blame and the burden of struggling against limitations.
Trauma-informed therapy
May help with medical trauma, loss of safety and frightening health experiences.
Psychological care complements appropriate medical treatment. It does not replace medical assessment of new, worsening or unexplained symptoms.
Your next step