Serious illness, the loss of function, a life-threatening course of treatment, or a death can change life in an instant. The familiar becomes uncertain, and many people find that their everyday life, their relationships, and their understanding of themselves all change.
I work with people who are in the middle of these life changes. Drawing on health psychology, ACT, and existential psychology, I support patients and their relatives in finding their footing when life no longer looks the way it did before.
When life changes
Grief and crisis are natural responses to what we lose, or to what we fear losing. They do not follow a set timetable, and they can be expressed in many different ways.
In therapy there is room for the strong emotions, the uncertainty, and the existential questions that can arise when illness or loss becomes part of life. The aim is not to remove the grief, but to support people in living with it and gradually finding a way onward.
Finding words for what is difficult
When life changes, it can be hard to find words for what you are going through, and hard to make sense of it. In therapy we work on understanding the reactions that arise and on developing greater psychological flexibility in the face of what is difficult. It is about making room for the thoughts and feelings that naturally follow illness and loss, while staying connected to the life and the values that continue to matter.