What to Expect During Your First Disability-Affirmative Therapy Session

Starting therapy can feel vulnerable.

Starting therapy after years of medical appointments, inaccessible systems, or feeling misunderstood because of your disability or chronic illness can feel especially vulnerable.

So before we meet, I want you to know: You do not need to have the “right” words ready. You do not need to perfectly explain your disability. And you do not need to prove your experiences in order to deserve support.

We’ll figure things out together.

You Probably Already Have the “Elevator Pitch”

If you live with a disability or chronic illness, you’ve probably had countless appointments where you learned to summarize your condition quickly: diagnoses, surgeries, symptoms, treatments, outcomes.

But those conversations often leave very little room to talk about what daily life actually feels like.

That’s the part I care about understanding.

Not just your medical history — but how disability impacts: your energy, relationships, stress, identity, accessibility, and the environments you navigate every day.

What I’ll Ask About

One of the first things I’ll want to understand is how your disability or chronic illness affects your day-to-day life. Not the diagnosis itself.

That may include conversations about: pain, fatigue, mobility, support needs, advocacy, or accessibility.

And when I ask questions, it’s not to challenge your experience, measure your worth, or determine whether your struggles are “bad enough.”

You’ve probably had enough of that already.

I ask because context matters.

Therapy Should Adapt to Humans — Not the Other Way Around

We’ll also talk about your goals for therapy and what support might look like for you.

And if your energy, pain, or consistency fluctuates, I do not see that as a lack of commitment.

Living with a disability or chronic illness often means capacity can change from day-to-day.

I understand that.

Our work together can still be flexible, collaborative, meaningful and still see progress.

One Last Thing

Many people arrive at Disability-Affirmative Therapy after years of feeling misunderstood, dismissed, or emotionally exhausted trying to navigate systems that were not built with them in mind.

You may have been made to feel like: your disability is the problem, your needs are too much, or traditional therapy tools simply didn’t fit your reality.

You are not failing therapy. You are a human being navigating a world that often was not designed with your needs in mind.

And you deserve support that recognizes that context.

If you're looking for disability-affirmative therapy in BC, I provide virtual counselling for teens and adults with physical disabilities, chronic illness, medical trauma, and advocacy fatigue. Learn more about Disability-Affirmative Therapy