Chronic Illness Therapy

in Livingston & Montclair, NJ and all of New Jersey, New York and PsyPACT States Online

When Illness Changes the Life You Expected

Have you or a loved one recently received a new diagnosis and feel scared, overwhelmed, or unsure of what comes next? You may be trying to process what you have been told, understand your treatment options, and adjust to the possibility that life may look different than you imagined.

Or perhaps you have been living with chronic illness or chronic pain for a long time and are beginning to feel worn down. You may be tired of navigating medical appointments, adjusting your plans, and constantly considering how your body is feeling. The ongoing demands of managing your health can take an emotional and mental toll.

Do you find yourself wondering how you will keep up with everyday life when your health feels unpredictable? Are you grieving changes to your independence or functioning? Maybe your experience feels difficult to explain to others, particularly when its impact is not always visible.

Chronic illness and chronic pain can affect many aspects of life, including your routines, relationships, work, and roles. You may be trying to maintain a sense of normalcy while adapting to changes in your physical abilities or grieving the life you expected to have.

Whether you are adjusting to a new illness or one you have been managing for a long time, you do not have to navigate these changes alone. Therapy can provide a space to process your experiences and find ways to move forward. The team at Dr. Haley Rottenberg Psychology, PC provides compassionate, evidence-based therapy to help you live more fully alongside your health challenges and reconnect with the parts of your life that matter most to you.

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Adjusting to Illness Takes Time

It is understandable to struggle when your health changes. Whether you're coping with cancer, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's disease, diabetes, an autoimmune condition, epilepsy, COPD, heart disease, or another ongoing medical condition, the emotional adjustment can be just as demanding as the physical discomfort from the illness or treatment.

Fear, anger, and grief are natural responses to significant changes in your life. Many people find the emotional impact of chronic illness or pain difficult. Research suggests that approximately 40% of adults living with chronic pain experience clinically significant symptoms of depression or anxiety.¹ Emotional distress can be a natural part of adjusting to illness or pain.

As your functioning changes, you may find yourself working hard to “push through” symptoms while keeping up with your usual responsibilities. Over time, the ongoing demands of managing your health alongside everyday life can leave you feeling emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed.

Build Flexibility in the Face of Health Challenges

Therapy for chronic illness and chronic pain goes beyond talking about how difficult things have been. Together, you and your therapist will explore how your health has affected your thoughts, emotions, behaviors, relationships, and daily life while developing practical ways to navigate these challenges. The goal is not to eliminate difficult emotions or convince you that everything is okay, but to help you respond to uncertainty, loss, pain, and other health-related stressors in ways that feel manageable and aligned with what matters to you.

We draw primarily from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). CBT can help you recognize patterns of thinking and behavior that may be increasing distress and develop more effective ways of responding. ACT helps you make room for difficult thoughts and emotions while continuing to take meaningful action, even when aspects of your health are outside your control.

Sessions may include exploring your experience with illness or a new diagnosis, processing changes and losses, and learning strategies to manage anxiety, difficult emotions, uncertainty, and changes in functioning. Together, you may also work on reconnecting with meaningful activities and relationships and identifying ways to move forward without losing sight of what matters most to you.

Therapy is not about accepting a life that feels smaller or giving up on the things that matter. It is about adapting to what has changed while continuing to build a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling.

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Our Evidence-based Approach to Therapy

Navigating life with a chronic condition or persistent pain often involves confronting obstacles that cannot be changed or easily fixed. You might be grappling with deep uncertainty, intense emotions, or shifts in your daily functioning and future goals. Therapy offers a dedicated space to cultivate the practical skills needed to handle these challenges while staying connected to a life that feels fulfilling.

Effective support for chronic illness involves more than just recounting your struggles. We utilize evidence-based frameworks, specifically Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to equip you with tangible tools for managing health-related stressors and the complex interplay of thoughts and behaviors.2,3

CBT provides a way to identify cognitive and behavioral patterns that might be amplifying your distress, such as fearing the worst-case scenario. Together, we will develop effective strategies to address these patterns, fostering greater confidence in navigating difficult moments and increasing your participation in activities that enhance your quality of life.

When you are faced with pain or uncertainty beyond your control, ACT offers a path forward. ACT focuses on learning to make room for difficult thoughts and emotions. This allows you to continue taking meaningful action toward the values that remain most important to you.

The team at Dr. Haley Rottenberg Psychology, PC brings specialized training and experience working with adults navigating chronic illness, chronic pain, new diagnoses, medical trauma, caregiver stress, grief, and health-related life transitions. We understand that every person's experience is different and take the time to understand the medical and emotional context of what you are going through. We can help you develop practical ways to manage emotional distress and find a path forward that honors both your health and the life you want to live.

Collaboration Is Key To Your Therapeutic Success

We take a person-centered approach as we recognize that every individual’s adjustment to illness is unique. Your sessions will be specifically tailored to your personal goals and life circumstances. We will work together to identify the barriers preventing you from living fully and develop the strategies necessary to help you move forward.

We also operate from a biopsychosocial perspective, understanding that your physical health, emotional state, and social relationships are all deeply interconnected. Therapy addresses more than just emotional pain and seeks to manage the broader impact of illness on your daily functioning and overall sense of well-being.

While therapy cannot alter every medical reality, it can help you transform how you respond to them. Together, we can work toward building greater flexibility, confidence, and a more profound connection to the life you want to lead.

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You may still have questions about moving forward with therapy for chronic illness or pain…

Can therapy help even if my medical condition is not going away?

Yes.

Therapy cannot eliminate a chronic medical condition, but it can help you navigate the emotional impact of living with one. Many people find that therapy reduces feelings of anxiety, low mood, and stress while helping them develop healthier coping strategies and improve their overall quality of life.

The goal is not to convince you that your illness is not difficult. Instead, therapy helps you respond to these challenges in ways that reduce unnecessary suffering and support your emotional well-being.

What types of therapy are effective for chronic illness and chronic pain?

Research supports utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for individuals living with ongoing medical conditions. CBT can help reduce anxiety and depression, while helping you develop more effective ways of responding to health-related challenges.2 ACT can help you respond more flexibly to difficult thoughts and emotions, improve quality of life, and stay engaged in meaningful activities even when aspects of your health remain outside your control.3

Your treatment is always individualized based on your goals, symptoms, and life circumstances.

Do I need to have anxiety or depression to benefit from therapy?

Not at all.

Many people seek therapy because they are struggling to adjust to changes in their health, cope with uncertainty, manage chronic pain, or navigate the emotional demands of ongoing medical care.

You do not need a mental health diagnosis to benefit from therapy. Living with a medical condition is inherently challenging, and it is normal to experience difficulty adjusting along the way. Therapy can provide a supportive space to navigate these experiences and develop practical strategies for living well despite ongoing medical challenges.

Begin Finding Support for Chronic Illness Today

We draw primarily from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). CBT can help you recognize patterns of thinking and behavior that may be increasing distress and develop more effective ways of responding. ACT helps you make room for difficult thoughts and emotions while continuing to take meaningful action, even when aspects of your health are outside your control.

Sessions may include exploring your experience with illness or a new diagnosis, processing changes and losses, and learning strategies to manage anxiety, difficult emotions, uncertainty, and changes in functioning. Together, you may also work on reconnecting with meaningful activities and relationships and identifying ways to move forward without losing sight of what matters most to you.

Therapy is not about accepting a life that feels smaller or giving up on the things that matter. It is about adapting to what has changed while continuing to build a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling.

Contact Us

Schedule a Session

References

Aaron RV, Ravyts SG, Carnahan ND, et al. Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety Among Adults With Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(3):e250268. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0268
Scott AJ, Bisby MA, Heriseanu AI, Salameh Y, Karin E, Fogliati R, Dudeney J, Gandy M, McLellan LF, Wootton B, McDonald S, Correa A, Titov N, Dear BF. Cognitive behavioral therapies for depression and anxiety in people with chronic disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev. 2023 Dec;106:102353. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102353. Epub 2023 Oct 16. PMID: 37865080.
Konstantinou, P., Ioannou, M., Melanthiou, D., et al. (2023). The impact of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on quality of life and symptom improvement among chronic health conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 29, 240–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.08.005