FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 20s-40s LIVING WITH ONGOING HEALTH CONDITIONS IN ILLINOIS AND TEXAS
Chronic-Illness Support Group For Women
Living with chronic illness in your 20s, 30s and early 40s can feel isolating especially when the world around you can’t see what you’re carrying.
You may be balancing medical appointments with career goals. Managing symptoms while trying to maintain relationships. Pushing through fatigue while others assume you’re “fine.”
Your body doesn’t operate the way it used to or the way you want it to.
Plans feels conditional. Energy is unpredictable. And there’s a specific emotional weight that comes with long-term illness, especially during years of life that are typically framed as expansion years (building careers, partnerships, families, identities).
Instead you’re managing limitations no one else can see. This group exists for women living inside that tension.
So, What the Hell is Chronic Illness?
Chronic illness means long-term health conditions that require ongoing management rather than a single course of treatment. These conditions fluctuate. They present differently depending on the day. They become part of how you move through the world.
Medical care addressed the physical side. The emotional side and relational impact? Pssh, that often gets entirely unsupported.
Chronic illness changes more than your health. It changes how you move through your life.
Autoimmune & Inflammatory Conditions
Conditions where the immune system attacks or dysregulates the body, often unpredictably.
Examples include:
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, and other systemic inflammatory disorders.
Autonomic, Neurological, & Fatigue Disorders
Conditions that affect energy regulations, heart rate, nervous system function or cognitive clarity.
Examples include:
POTS, chronic migraine disorders, and other dysautonomia-related conditions.
Hormonal, Gastrointestinal & Pain Conditions
Conditions that impact digestion, metabolism, reproductive health or chronic pain.
Examples include:
PCOS, endometriosis, IBS, fibromyalgia, thyroid disorders, and other chronic GI or pain-related diagnoses.
Lets Be Honest For a Minute.
You’re still showing up. Still performing “fine.” Still trying to keep pace with people who don’t have to think about their energy levels, their symptoms, their limitations.
And when your body won’t cooperate, when you have to cancel, modify, rest or decline, you’re somehow the one who feels like a failure.
The fatigue is real. The grief is real. The loneliness of being sick in a way nobody can see is real.
You deserve a space where none of that needs explaining.
This is a therapist-facilitated support group for women navigating chronic medical conditions. While therapeutic tools may be introduced, this is not group psychotherapy. This focus is peer connection, emotional support and guided conversation.
GROUP DETAILS
Virtual (Illinois and Texas residents only)
Up to 8 women
Ongoing enrollment as space allows
Twice monthly evening meetings (first and third Thursday of the month from 6:30pm-7:30pm)
Format
$65 per session (drop in)
$130 per month (two sessions)
Investment
Amber Simpson, MBA-HCAD, MSW, LCSW-S
20+ years in healthcare
Living with chronic autoimmune condition
Facilitator
Interested in joining?
Complete the inquiry form below. We’ll begin with a brief 15 minute consultation call to ensure the group feels like a good fit.
You’ll have space to share your diagnosis, what you’re navigating and what you’re hoping for from group.
This group is right for you if…
You’re medically stable but emotionally overwhelmed
You want peer connection with other women who actually get it
You’re open to sharing and listening
You are seeking emotional support, not medical treatment
This group is not a substitute for medical card, crisis support or individual/ or group therapy.
If you are unsure whether it’s a good fit, we’ll talk it through on your consultation call.
Living with chronic illness is complex. You don’t have to process it alone.
FAQs
What’s the difference between a support group and group therapy?
Group therapy is formal psychotherapy that focuses on diagnosis, treatment planning and clinical interventions.
This support group is facilitated by a licensed therapist but centers on shared, guided conversation, and emotional support. While therapeutic tools may be introduced, the primary purpose is connection and processing, not formal treatment.
Is this group structured or open discussion?
Each session includes a guided theme or framework to support focus and safety. Within that structure, conversation unfolds organically based on what participaants bring into the space.
Do I need to attend every session?
Consistency helps build trust within the group. If you enroll monthly, your space is reserved. Drop-in attendance is available as long as space allows.