Chronic illness counselling
When the hardest part isn’t the diagnosis
Living with a long-term condition takes up more of you than anyone outside it sees. This is counselling with someone who already knows that, so you can spend the hour on what it is doing to you rather than explaining the condition itself.
Some of this may sound familiar
- You are tired of explaining the same thing to every new person you see.
- You cancel plans often enough that you have stopped making them.
- People keep telling you how well you look.
- You grieve the version of yourself you had planned to be.
- Appointments and admin have quietly become a second job.
- You feel guilty for being a burden, and then angry for feeling guilty.
- You are managing, and you are exhausted by managing.
None of this has to reach crisis point to be worth talking about. Most people who come to us are coping, and would rather not be coping alone.
What counselling can actually do here
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Somewhere to put the anger and the grief
Long-term illness carries real losses. They deserve more room than a ten-minute appointment allows, and more honesty than the people who love you can always take.
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Help with the parts nobody warns you about
Telling an employer. Handling advice you did not ask for. Deciding how much to say, and to whom. The practical weight around the condition, not just the feelings about it.
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A place where you are not the patient
No treatment plan, no targets, nothing to be compliant with. An hour where you get to be a person with a life rather than a case being managed.
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What it will not do
Counselling will not treat your condition or change your prognosis, and we will never suggest otherwise. It is support for living alongside something that is not going away.
Why this is different with us
Every qualified counsellor at Chronic Minds has lived with a long-term condition or disability, or has cared closely for someone who has. It is a hiring standard, not a line of marketing.
In practice it means the first session starts where you actually are. You will not lose three sessions and three payments teaching someone what fatigue is, or why a good week does not mean you are better.
Meet the counsellorsHow to start
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Pick a counsellor
Read the profiles and choose whoever feels right, or ask us to suggest someone.
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Book a time
Online anywhere in the UK, or in person in Leeds. £70 with a qualified counsellor, £35 with a supervised trainee.
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Come as you are
Bad day, flare-up, nothing prepared. There is nothing you need to have ready to say.
Coming through MS Society Leeds or another partner? Your first appointment is arranged through them, and there is nothing to pay. See how funded support works
Questions people ask first
Do I need a diagnosis?
No. Plenty of people come to us while they are still being investigated, and the not-knowing is often the hardest part of all. You do not need a letter, a label or a referral.
What if I have to cancel because I am unwell?
[Cancellation policy — confirm wording. Should say plainly what notice is needed and what happens if a flare-up makes that impossible.]
Can I do sessions from bed?
Yes. Online sessions can be taken lying down, with the camera off, or by voice only if that is easier on a bad day. It will not be treated as a problem.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no set number and no package to commit to. Some people come for a few weeks around a difficult stretch, others stay longer. You decide as you go.
What is the difference between the £70 and £35 sessions?
£70 is with a qualified, registered counsellor. £35 is with a trainee counsellor working under qualified clinical supervision. You always know which you are booking.
See the full pricingWill my counsellor understand my condition specifically?
They may not have your exact diagnosis, and we will not pretend otherwise. What they will understand is what long-term illness does to a life, because they have lived it.
You don’t have to be at your worst to ask for help
Book with whoever you like the look of, or send a question first and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people for this.
Would rather talk to someone? Call [phone number], [days and hours].