Therapy provides a safe and non-judgmental space for individuals to express and process the emotional impact of living with a chronic illness.
Dr. Christine Sparacino
Psychoanalytic Psychologist
I offer weekly and biweekly virtual sessions for adults of all ages in individual therapy, coaching & groups.
The cost is $230 per therapy session without insurance (along with a receipt for out-of-network reimbursement). Aetna and Blue Cross accepted for Arizona residents.
Let's begin with a free 15-minute consultation to discuss how we might work together. This initial conversation provides an opportunity for us to explore your goals for therapy and see if our approach aligns with what you're seeking.
Maybe you’re experiencing a change in your health. Maybe you’ve been diagnosed with a chronic disease such as high blood pressure or asthma. Maybe you feel confused about how to manage your health while living your life.
Therapy can provide empathy, validation, and understanding, while helping you navigate the complex emotions, such as grief, anger, frustration, anxiety, or depression, that can arise from managing a chronic condition.
I work collaboratively with individuals to develop effective coping strategies to manage the physical, emotional, and practical challenges associated with chronic illness. This may include stress management techniques, problem-solving skills, relaxation exercises, and building resilience to navigate daily life with the condition.
Therapy provides a space to explore and process emotions. This safety to process emotions facilitates an emotional awareness while developing regulation and resilience. Therapy can address challenges such as stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, or grief, promoting emotional well-being and fostering a more positive and balanced emotional state.
Through our work together, I help clients engage in self-reflection and self-exploration, helping you gain insight into your thoughts, beliefs, values, and behaviors. Through this process, you may develop a deeper understanding of yourself, your strengths, and areas for growth. This increased self-awareness may enable you to make informed choices and align your actions with your values, leading to a greater sense of authenticity and fulfillment.
Are you experiencing burnout from managing diabetes? Are you overwhelmed with all the tasks required to manage your health? Are you fearful of complications and how the disease will progress? Does it feel like people in your life are telling you all the things you shouldn’t be eating?
Diabetes distress specifically pertains to the unique stressors associated with managing the daily demands of diabetes, such as monitoring blood sugar levels, taking medications, making dietary changes, and dealing with the potential complications of the disease. It has been said that there are 100 tasks a day in the management of diabetes.
It can be common to may experience feelings of frustration, helplessness, guilt, or anger related to your condition. You may also have feelings like depressed mood and a sense of hopelessness. You may feel overwhelmed by the constant need for self-care and the fear of long-term complications. Diabetes distress can impact your ability to effectively manage your diabetes, leading to difficulties in adhering to treatment plans and self-care routines.There can also be distress from the interactions with family, friends, coworkers, your boss, and your physician. Often, people can feel that others in their lives operate as the “diabetes police.” It is common to feel that others do not see the positive ways in which you manage your health, and only focus on what you could do better.
Having chronic illness affects mental health in many ways: the extra demands to manage one's health, a loss of identity from a former healthy state, and impaired physical functioning.
There is also the complexity of feeling ill over an extended period of time, loss of work, financial constraints, and the barriers we experience in our healthcare system.
A new diagnosis can feel like a shattering of the life we knew, causing us to feel distressed. The first step is to remember that it is normal to feel sad, angry, and lonely. Then we need to offer self-compassion as we adjust to the news and continue to normalize our feelings. Therapy can be a helpful tool for coping emotionally, supporting you so that you don't have to adjust emotionally by yourself.
Yes! Therapy provides a safe space to speak openly about our emotions and experiences of illness without fear of being judged. It also offers support through the grieving process of a loss of identity. Therapy can equip you with coping strategies to reclaim your health and learn to live well with illness.
Take action today and start taking steps towards a better future.
