Therapy for Women Living with Chronic Illness, Injury, and Life-Altering Change

Telehealth Therapy for Women Online in Atlanta and throughout Georgia

You’re Doing Everything Right—And It’s Still Too Hard

You show up to appointments. You follow protocols. You research, track, and advocate for yourself.

On the outside, you may look “fine.” But inside, you feel anxious, lost, and deeply exhausted. Few people truly understand what it costs you to keep going—or how disorienting it is to live in a body you can’t fully rely on.

Loved ones urge you to “stay strong.”

Doctors offer shifting answers.

Friends dismiss what’s happening, overlook what you need, or say things like “at least you’re still alive.”

They don’t see the hidden calculations you make in order to participate in life: Will I even be able to walk into the restaurant if there are stairs? Will my balance hold in a space with clashing floors and patterns? What if my body gives out halfway through the evening? What if my fatigue kicks in?

And when illness or injury forces you to decline invitations—again—guilt and loneliness creep in.

People assume you’re “always sick,” but they don’t understand how deeply you want to be there, how much you miss the small, ordinary rhythms of life: a walk, a grocery run, cleaning your own home, laughing with friends without fear of what your body might do next.

This is why you’re here. You don’t need judgment, false promises, or empty clichés.

You need a place to lay down the invisible weight you’re carrying—and begin to feel like yourself again.

This Isn’t Just About Symptoms.

It’s About Loss.

Chronic illness, injury, or medical trauma doesn’t only change your health—it reshapes your identity, your sense of safety, and your place in the world.

It’s not just the pain or unpredictability of symptoms. It’s the grief of what you’ve lost, the uncertainty of what may change next, and the daily negotiation with a body that no longer feels fully your own.

It’s the heartbreak of trying to keep up with the life you once knew—the work, the relationships, the roles that matter most—while feeling compromised, dismissed, or misunderstood.

This is why support matters.

You need a place where you don’t have to explain, where you are believed, and where you can begin to find a way forward.

I work with women navigating the emotional toll of medical experiences—chronic illness like cancer, IC, POTS, long COVID, fibromyalgia, or autoimmune conditions.

Many have faced trauma: surgical complications, misdiagnosis, gaslighting, or life-altering events like stroke or heart attack.

Others live with injury from sports, accidents, or burns. My clients often feel dismissed, and struggle with grief, anxiety, depression, and disconnection from their bodies.

They want care that truly sees them.

You Don’t Need to Be Fixed.

You Need to Be Met.

I’m Sara Anderson, MA, LPC, NCC, CYT, HTCP

For more than 25 years, I’ve specialized in somatic trauma therapy—supporting women whose health crises, injuries, and medical experiences have unraveled not only their bodies, but their sense of safety, identity, and belonging.

I know what it means to live in a body you can’t always trust—and what it takes to slowly rebuild that trust, to become your own strongest ally, and to reclaim a life that feels like your own.

I offer a compassionate, integrative approach for women living with chronic illness, injury, or medical trauma—the emotional toll of a body that doesn’t always feel safe or like it belongs to you. My work weaves nervous system regulation, creative expression, depth psychology, and trauma-informed care to support real healing—not just temporary symptom relief.

“Sara understood what it’s like to live in a body that doesn’t cooperate. She gave me tools to feel calmer, less alone, and more like myself again.”

~ M
“I came to Sara after years of being dismissed by doctors. For the first time, I felt seen and believed. That alone was healing.”

~ C
“Working with Sara helped me grieve what I lost and find new ways to live fully, even with my diagnosis.”

~ J

When Health Changes Everything

Chronic Health Conditions

Living with ongoing, unpredictable medical issues can bring challenges that extend far beyond physical symptoms—misdiagnoses, dismissive doctors, and the strain of feeling misunderstood by those around you.

Whether you’re navigating POTS, Long COVID, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Interstitial Cystitis, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, cancer, or another chronic illness, therapy offers a place to process what you’re carrying, ease the emotional toll, and move through your healing journey with compassion and support.

Post-Injury Trauma

Recovering from a significant or life-altering injury—such as a sports injury, car accident, burn, or workplace accident—is not just about physical healing. It often disrupts your sense of identity, safety, and trust in your own body.

Therapy offers support as you process what happened, work through the emotional impact, and cultivate resilience so you can move forward with greater steadiness and self-confidence.

Medical Trauma

Traumatic medical experiences—such as medical gaslighting, surgical errors, birth trauma, unexpected complications, or the dehumanizing effects of the healthcare system—can leave lasting emotional wounds that aren’t always visible. Even when your body heals, the fear, mistrust, and loss of safety may remain.

Therapy provides a space to process those hidden injuries, reclaim your voice and autonomy, and begin to feel safe in your body and in medical settings again.

Post-Stroke, Post-Cardiac Trauma

In the stroke community, many talk about what it means to come back strong. And while survivors often fight hard to regain mobility and may look “fine” on the outside, that doesn’t mean everything feels fine on the inside. Lasting changes in the body, nervous system, and sense of safety can linger—along with the challenge of navigating a world that isn’t always aware of necessary accommodations. Even family and loved ones may dismiss, overlook, or struggle to understand the ongoing impact.

Therapy provides a space to acknowledge what isn’t visible, process the trauma of nearly dying, and support you in rebuilding trust in yourself as you navigate life after stroke or cardiac event.

Together, We’ll Work Gently From the Inside Out

This is not therapy that rushes you to “get over it.” It’s therapy that gives you space to be with what has happened—so you can finally move forward with yourself. My approach is trauma-informed, somatic, and integrative, supporting real healing instead of surface-level fixes.

Flowchart with three brown arrows; the first with a leaf icon, the second with a heart icon, the third with a sun icon.

Calm Your Nervous System

Learn grounding, body-based tools that bring relief and help you feel steadier in daily life.

Build a New Sense of Safety

Slowly reconnect with your body and yourself—not as something to strive for, but as something that has always been yours.

Reclaim What Matters

Honor the grief of what’s been lost, while rediscovering your capacity for connection, meaning, and a life that feels like your own.

The Approaches I Use

Havening Techniques®

Gentle, neuroscience-based touch that calms the nervous system and reduces distress.
Applied Somatic Jungian Therapy

Body-based and imaginal approaches to help you explore meaning, process trauma, and reconnect with yourself.
EMDR Therapy

A structured method that helps reprocess overwhelming memories so they no longer hold the same emotional charge.
Expressive Therapy

Creative tools like writing, drawing, or movement to help you process feelings that words alone can’t reach.
Relational, Mindful, & Self-Compassionate Therapy

A supportive connection where you can slow down, listen inward, and begin to treat yourself with the same kindness you offer others.