Dr. Elizabeth A. Mellin

A lot of people come to me after years of trying to keep everything afloat while managing symptoms that won't simply go away. They're living with chronic illness, chronic pain, burnout, anxiety, brain fog, insomnia, or other ongoing health concerns while continuing to show up for demanding jobs, graduate programs, caregiving, and the people who depend on them. Many learned early on that pushing through was the only option. Over time, that can create a life organized around endurance rather than sustainability. People often find themselves caught between pushing beyond their limits and withdrawing from what matters to them, unsure whether there is another way forward. By the time people find me, they've usually already done a lot. They've seen specialists, tried treatments, changed routines, read the books, and worked hard to manage what they're facing. Many are worn down by being told to push through, blamed for symptoms they can't explain, or left wondering why nothing seems to help. Some carry the effects of medical trauma, healthcare dismissal, or years of self-advocacy fatigue from repeatedly having to justify their symptoms and fight to be taken seriously. There is often grief for the life they expected to have, along with uncertainty about what is possible now. Many people feel disconnected from activities, relationships, or parts of themselves that once gave them a sense of purpose and direction. Chronic stress and chronic illness shape each other, affecting sleep, pain, energy, and the nervous system in ways that can be difficult to untangle alone. I'm Liz, a lesbian therapist and professor who lives with chronic illness. I work with adults navigating chronic illness, chronic pain, burnout, anxiety, and fatigue. Many of my clients are LGBTQ+, live in larger bodies, or come from marginalized racial and ethnic communities, identities, and experiences that can shape how stress, healthcare, and support are experienced over time. Many have encountered systemic bias in healthcare or felt unseen within systems that were not designed with their experiences in mind. As a professor, I also understand environments that reward overwork and encourage people to override their limits. Therapy isn't about fixing everything that's hard or getting rid of every symptom. It's about helping you build a life that feels more sustainable, meaningful, and connected to what matters most. Together, we'll work to understand your relationship with symptoms, stress, and expectations; loosen patterns that no longer serve you; and make room for both your limitations and your values, or the middle ground. Because health flares can deeply disrupt your daily rhythms and your relationships, this often means stabilizing your supportive daily anchors while processing the complex grief of how illness reshapes your identity. This may involve learning to notice difficult thoughts and emotions without being pulled around by them, clarifying what matters most and identifying realistic ways to stay connected to it, or exploring longstanding beliefs about worth, productivity, responsibility, and endurance that developed early and continue to shape how you move through the world. Over time, many people find that grounding our work in these research-backed principles helps them be less caught in cycles of overextension and burnout, more trusting of their own experience, and better able to create lives that reflect both their realities and their priorities. Beginning therapy can feel vulnerable, especially when your concerns have been dismissed, minimized, or misunderstood by other systems. You don't need to prove that you're struggling enough to deserve support. If this resonates, please reach out.