Chronic Illness Therapy in Toronto
Hearing a doctor tell you that you’ve been diagnosed with a chronic illness can be incredibly frightening.
You’ll likely have a million questions about how your physical health will be impacted and how you can expect your life to change. However, most people don’t take their mental health into consideration when receiving a chronic illness diagnosis.
While it’s normal to experience feelings of anxiety, sadness, and even grief when dealing with a chronic illness, it can be overwhelming and isolating to deal with these feelings on your own.
Seeing a chronic illness therapist can help you feel supported, seen, and understood.
Just like your medical team helps you maintain the best physical health possible, a therapist is here to help you navigate the social and emotional impacts of chronic illness.
What is a Chronic Illness?
Chronic illnesses are long-term illnesses that may progress over time. Treatment for chronic illnesses often focuses on controlling them rather than curing them.
Chronic illnesses can impact your activities of daily living - you may end up making changes to your life in order to accommodate the impact of your illness and any medical treatments necessary.
Effects of chronic illness on your daily life can include:
- Experiencing changes to your self-esteem, self-confidence, & overall mental health
- Living with the physical impacts of your illness and accommodating treatments
- Adjusting to changes in mobility, independence, and ability to work
- Understanding how your illness can impact your relationships
- Dealing with feelings of grief, anxiety, and depression
- Managing communication with your medical team
What Happens During Chronic Illness Therapy?
Your chronic illness therapist will work with you to help you accept your diagnosis, understand and manage the feelings you have about your chronic illness, and explore how to manage feelings of burnout or distress over time in relation to your chronic illness.
Chronic illness therapy can help you:
- Set up routines for medication management and other necessary tasks - be they regular appointments or yearly check-ups
- Understand the emotional and social impacts of your illness
- Develop and implement effective coping strategies
- Help you set and achieve new goals for yourself
- Grieve any feelings of loss you’re experiencing
- Feel supported and understood
Your therapist is also there to help you with any challenges you’re experiencing beyond your illness, such as managing your family's, friends', and others' expectations of how you manage you chronic illness. Nothing is off the table.
At KMA Therapy, our therapy sessions are 50-minutes in length and cost $245 per session. Our services are covered by most insurance providers under “Psychological Services.”
Begin Therapy for Chronic Illness at KMA Therapy Today
If you have a chronic illness, and especially if you have just been diagnosed, the KMA Therapy team is here to support you.
KMA Therapist Warren Solomons is well versed in dealing with and managing chronic illness. As an insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetic he has personal, ongoing experience with having and handling a chronic illness.
He’s here to:
- Help you come to terms with and accept your diagnosis
- Guide you through dealing with chronic illness burnout & distress
- Help you manage the expectations of those who support and love you
- Provide long-term strategies to manage your chronic illness from both a practical and mental health viewpoint
Book an appointment with Warren today or reach out to our team if you have any questions about our therapy process.
You can also explore our Issues page to learn more about the range of issues we treat at KMA Therapy.
Read these articles for more information:
Dealing with a chronic illness can make you feel isolated, stressed, and misunderstood. Let us give you the support and validation you deserve.
