What if your body has been the battleground for so long that you have stopped trusting it entirely?
This is therapy for people navigating the psychological and emotional weight of chronic illness. For people with EDS, POTS, fibromyalgia, or other conditions who are exhausted not just by the pain itself but by the grief, the isolation, and the relentless work of trying to be believed. For people who have experienced medical trauma alongside their illness and are carrying both.
At Embodied Therapy, the body is not the enemy. The suffering is real. And you deserve support that recognizes all of it.
If you recognized yourself in any of these, you are in the right place.
Living with chronic pain or illness is not just a physical experience. It changes how you see yourself, how you relate to your body, how you move through the world, and how much you allow yourself to hope for. It also comes with a particular kind of grief that most people in your life do not know how to sit with.
People who come to us have often been managing for a long time. They have learned how to get through a day. They have gotten very good at not letting people see how much it takes. From the outside, things may look fine. On the inside, they are carrying something enormous. And they have often been doing it alone.
Therapy here is not about positivity or acceptance as a performance. It is about making honest room for the grief, the rage, and the complicated experience of being inside a body that is not cooperating, and finding a way forward that does not require you to pretend.
Chronic pain is defined as pain persisting beyond the expected period of healing, typically lasting three months or more. It is not imagined. It is not weakness. It is a real neurological and physiological experience that can fundamentally alter how the brain and body function over time.
Chronic pain and mental health are deeply interconnected. People with chronic pain experience depression at significantly higher rates than the general population. Anxiety, PTSD, and disordered eating also frequently co-occur with chronic illness. This is not because chronic pain is all in your head. It is because persistent pain changes the nervous system in ways that affect mood, cognition, and emotional regulation.
Mental health support for chronic pain is not a replacement for medical care. It is part of a comprehensive approach to living with a condition that affects the whole person.
A group of connective tissue disorders that affect the structure and function of collagen throughout the body. EDS often involves hypermobility, chronic pain, fatigue, and a wide range of systemic symptoms. It is frequently missed or misdiagnosed for years, and the diagnostic journey itself can be its own source of trauma.
A form of dysautonomia that affects the autonomic nervous system and causes significant symptoms including rapid heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue upon standing. POTS often co-occurs with EDS and other connective tissue conditions. It is regularly dismissed by providers as anxiety, which adds another layer of harm.
Widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbance, and often cognitive difficulty. Historically undertreated and minimized in medical settings, particularly in women and AFAB individuals.
Including autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraines, and other conditions involving ongoing symptoms, medical management, and the psychological weight of a life shaped by illness.
The harm that can result from medical experiences: being disbelieved, receiving a late or incorrect diagnosis, undergoing procedures without adequate support, or navigating a healthcare system that did not take your pain seriously. Medical trauma is real and common, particularly for people in marginalized groups.
Therapy here starts with believing the client. The pain is real. The fatigue is real. The grief is real. We do not begin from a position of trying to determine whether the symptoms are legitimate enough to deserve support.
From there, we work on the psychological aspects of living with illness: the grief and loss, the identity shifts, the relational changes, the complicated emotions around a body that is not cooperating, and the trauma that may have accumulated in medical settings.
We also work with the body directly. Somatic approaches that help rebuild a more compassionate relationship with a body that has been a source of pain rather than safety. This is slow, careful work. We move at your pace.
Body liberation is a core principle here. We do not work toward acceptance as a destination. We work toward a more honest, more humane relationship with your body as it actually is, including the hard parts.
People navigating chronic illness who do this work often find they are able to:
Approaches are chosen together based on what actually fits each person’s brain, nervous system, and life. There is no single method that works for everyone.
Works directly with the body in a way that is careful, collaborative, and consent-based. Helpful for rebuilding a more compassionate internal relationship with a body that has been a source of pain.
Helps clients move toward what matters to them even in the presence of pain and limitation. Not acceptance as resignation, but as a foundation for actually living the life they have.
For medical trauma and the traumatic experiences that accumulate in the process of seeking diagnosis and care in a system that often fails people.
Explores the different parts of the internal experience of chronic illness: the part that is grieving, the part that is angry, the part that is scared, and the part that is still reaching for something beyond the illness.
Practical tools for managing pain-related distress and the emotional intensity that chronic illness frequently generates.
Holds the reality that chronic illness affects marginalized communities differently, and that the dismissal many patients experience is not random. It is patterned. That context is part of the clinical work.
This may be a good fit if you are navigating:
We see clients virtually. Our therapist is licensed in New Mexico, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
Our founder, Allison VanGordon (they/she), holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Food alongside their clinical training in mental health, giving them a foundation in how the body and mind interact that goes deeper than most mental health training provides. Their approach to chronic illness is grounded in body liberation, anti-oppression principles, and a genuine understanding of how medical systems have historically failed the people they were built to serve.
Their PhD research focuses on marginalized communities, including the specific ways chronic illness intersects with gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, and race in how symptoms are perceived, treated, and supported.
Read more about Embodied Therapy here and read more about Allison here.
Therapy does not cure chronic pain. It helps with the psychological impact of living with it: the grief, the identity shifts, the anxiety and depression that often accompany chronic illness, the medical trauma, and the quality of life that remains possible inside a life with ongoing pain. Some research also suggests psychological treatment can reduce pain intensity and improve pain tolerance, though results vary by person and condition.
We work with what you actually have. Sessions can be adapted in frequency and format based on your energy and capacity. Virtual sessions reduce the burden of travel. We talk honestly about what is sustainable, and we adjust when things change.
Yes, and this intersection is more common than is often recognized. Conditions like EDS affect the GI system in ways that can complicate eating. Medical trauma around food or the body can also contribute to disordered eating patterns. We hold both with care.
You do not need to decide whether something qualifies as trauma to talk about it. If your experiences with medical providers or the healthcare system have left a mark on how you feel about yourself or your body, that is worth exploring.
The intake session is $250.
Ongoing individual therapy sessions range from $85 to $155, depending on need and availability.
Family and parent support sessions range from $105 to $175.
Sliding scale options are available. You can check your eligibility instantly below — no phone calls, no hassle.
Reaching out is the hardest part for most people. Whether you are a teen trying to find words for something that has never felt speakable, an adult who has carried this quietly for years, or a parent who has been quietly terrified for months — you do not need to have it figured out before you contact us.
A free consultation is just a conversation. You ask questions. We ask questions. Together we figure out whether this feels like the right fit before anyone commits to anything.
