Therapy for Chronic Illness in Arizona
Living with a long-term illness is a second job nobody applied for. The appointments, the medication timing, the explaining, the plans you cancel, and the version of yourself you are quietly grieving all add up, and most of it is invisible to the people around you.
I work with people across Arizona who are carrying that load. Sessions are by video, so you can do them from the couch on a bad day, or in person at my Goodyear office when you have the energy for it. Reaching out on a bad day is fine. The call is fifteen minutes and you can take it lying down.
Emily Ward, MS, LAC
Counselor in Goodyear, and online across Arizona
Is this you?
- You have a condition that is not going away, such as an autoimmune disease, diabetes, chronic pain, a heart or lung condition, long COVID, or something still being diagnosed.
- You are tired in a way that sleep does not fix, and you have started to feel like a burden.
- You miss the person you were before, and you feel guilty for missing them.
- Friends have drifted, or you have stopped saying yes to things because you cannot count on how you will feel.
- Your mood has slipped, and you are not sure whether it is the illness, the medication, or you.
If you nodded at a few of those, you are not being dramatic. The emotional side of living with an illness is real, even though it rarely gets talked about.
The grief nobody names
When your body changes for good, you lose things that do not get a funeral: the plans you made, the job that fit, the hobbies that ran on energy you no longer have, and the easy trust that your body will do what you ask. Most people try to skip the grieving part, because it feels self-indulgent when other people have it worse. It does not work. The sadness leaks out as irritability, as numbness, or as the kind of pushing through that ends in a crash.
Grief for a changed body deserves the same care as any other loss, and going through it on purpose, with someone, is usually gentler than having it ambush you.
What therapy works on
Therapy does not replace your medical care and it does not pretend to treat the illness. It works on everything around the illness, which is often where most of the suffering lives.
The thoughts. “I am a burden.” “I am lazy.” “Everyone is tired of hearing about it.” Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) gives you a practical way to question them. We catch those thoughts, check them against the evidence, and find truer ones that you can actually believe.
The hard moments. Flare days, bad news at an appointment, and the 2 a.m. spiral all call for skills that work right then. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) offers skills for getting through pain and fear in the moment, and several were designed for exactly those situations.
The identity. Who are you now, if you are not the person who could do everything? This is slower work, and it is the part people most often say they did not know they needed. We look at what still matters to you, what is still possible, and how to want a life you did not choose.
The mood. Sometimes the sadness has become depression, and sometimes a medication is part of the story. If I think a conversation with your prescriber would help, I will say so. Many people with chronic illness have the kind of depression that hides behind being fine.
Why video, and why Arizona
Video appointments are available four days a week, with afternoon and evening times. You do not have to shower, drive, or sit in a waiting room. You can be in bed with the camera propped on a pillow. If a session lands on a bad day, it can still happen, and that consistency matters more with chronic illness than with almost anything else I treat.
Because my license is from Arizona, you have to be in the state when we meet, though anywhere in it is fine. On a good day, you are welcome at the Goodyear office if it is within reach.
Online across Arizona
I see clients by video on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with afternoon and evening openings. You need to be in Arizona during the session.
In person in Goodyear
My office is at 1626 N Litchfield Rd Ste 220, Goodyear, AZ 85395, and I am there on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Fees and insurance
Sessions are 50–55 minutes and cost $100 without insurance. I am in-network with Aetna/Banner, Cigna, Curative, and United Healthcare, and I take Cigna and United Healthcare employee assistance program (EAP) sessions, which are the free sessions some employers cover. The full details are on the insurance and fees page, and if your plan is not listed, ask me on the free call and I will tell you what your options are.
Questions people ask
Can you help if my doctors have not figured out what is wrong with me?
Yes. You do not need a diagnosis to work with me, and a lot of the hardest stretch is the one before anyone has a name for it. Not being believed, not knowing what to plan for, and wondering whether it is all in your head are things therapy can help with directly, whatever the medical answer turns out to be.
Will you talk with my doctor or my medical team?
If you want me to, and with your written permission, yes. Some people find it helps for their therapist and their physician to be on the same page about pacing, sleep, or medication side effects that affect mood. Some people prefer to keep the two separate. It is your call, and nothing is shared without your consent.
What happens if I have to cancel because of a flare?
Tell me as soon as you know, and we will figure out the session. Often the answer is to switch that day's appointment to video, or to shorten it, rather than cancel it. The standard cancellation policy is on the insurance and fees page, and I would rather talk with you about a bad week than apply it blindly.
Does insurance cover therapy for chronic illness?
Yes, as long as your plan covers therapy with me. I am in-network with Aetna/Banner, Cigna, Curative, and United Healthcare, and I take Cigna and United Healthcare EAP sessions. Without insurance a session is 50–55 minutes and costs $100. Most plans treat a video session like an office visit, but it is worth a quick check with yours.
I am not depressed, I am just tired and sad about my body. Is that a reason for therapy?
Yes. Grief for the body and the life you had is real grief, and it does not need to become depression before it deserves attention. Many people find that having one place to say the honest things out loud, without managing anyone else's feelings about it, makes the rest of the week lighter.
The easiest next step
I offer a free 15-minute phone call so you can hear how I work before you commit to anything. You set it up directly with me by text or email. If you would rather meet in person, my office is at 1626 N Litchfield Rd Ste 220, Goodyear, AZ 85395.