How It's Complicated works
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Find your therapistUse our free matching service for personal recommendations, or browse our network of 2,500+ therapists yourself.
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Create your free accountSign up in under 2 minutes. All you need is an email and a password, and you're ready to go.
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Start therapyReach out to your therapist and book your first session within 24 hours. Online or in person, in 60+ languages.
Learn more about chronic illness
Chronic illness refers to a long-term physical health condition that lasts a year or more, requires ongoing medical care, or limits daily activities. Common examples include diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and autoimmune conditions, and many people live with more than one at once. Therapy for chronic illness does not treat the underlying medical condition. Instead, it supports the emotional and psychological weight of living with it: the stress, uncertainty, grief, and changes to daily life that a long-term diagnosis can bring.
You don't need to be in crisis to find support useful. Living with a chronic illness affects far more than the body, and many people reach a point where the emotional side becomes as demanding as the medical one. You might find therapy helpful if you:
- Feel worn down by the ongoing demands of managing a condition or its treatment
- Are grieving the routines, plans, or sense of self that the illness has changed
- Notice persistent low mood, anxiety, or anger about your health
- Struggle with uncertainty about the future or with fluctuating symptoms
- Feel isolated, or that people around you don't understand what daily life is like
- Find that stress seems to worsen how your symptoms feel
Several therapeutic approaches can help you manage the emotional impact of chronic illness, and the right fit depends on what you're finding hardest.
- CBT: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps you notice and challenge unhelpful or catastrophising thoughts about your health, which can make the day-to-day demands of a condition easier to manage. It is the most widely used talking therapy for people living with chronic illness.
- ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy focuses on accepting what cannot be changed while committing to what still matters to you. It suits people adjusting to permanent changes or living with uncertainty.
- Body therapy works with the physical experience of illness, helping with the tension, fatigue, and disconnection from the body that long-term conditions can bring.
- Mindfulness teaches ways to stay grounded amid pain, fatigue, or worry, and can help reduce the stress that often makes symptoms feel worse.
- Counselling offers space to talk through grief, frustration, and the practical strain of living with a condition, at your own pace.
It's Complicated is a therapist-founded mental health platform connecting clients with verified practitioners across Europe and globally, in over 60 languages. We work with over 2,500 vetted therapists, with in-person availability in Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Vienna, and other major cities, alongside online sessions worldwide. It's Complicated is free to use, and you pay your chosen therapist directly at rates they set.
Finding a therapist who understands life with a chronic illness matters, because you shouldn't have to explain the basics of your condition before the real work can begin. Our matching service is built to remove that friction. You complete a short survey, our psychologists combine data-driven insights with human judgement to identify the right therapists for your situation, and you choose from a shortlist of strong candidates. You can also browse our directory directly if you'd prefer to choose yourself.
Get matched with a therapist who understands chronic illness, or browse the directory to choose yourself.
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