PODCAST · health
The Chronic Illness Therapist
by Destiny Davis LPC CRC
Disrupting the mental health and medical system for people with chronic, invisible illnesses. We will no longer accept lack of answers, empathy, and guidance from the professionals we are told to trust. It’s not in your head, you are not a burden, and we’ll prove that to you one episode at a time. I'm an Atlanta-based mental health therapist specializing in chronic pain / invisible illnesses. This podcast is for educational and insight purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for mental health treatment. Always seek medical advice before making changes to your health regimens.
Episodes
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Ep 129: What Athletes and Chronically Ill People Have in Common with Kelsey Ruffing LCPC
If you've ever felt like nobody around you understands what it's like to lose your old identity to a diagnosis, this episode names that experience using language borrowed from an unlikely place: sport psychology. The same identity disruption athletes face after a career-ending injury shows up...
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Ep 128: Why Slow Movement Might Be the Thing That Actually Works with Jeannie Di Bon
If you've ever been told to push through the pain, or worried that going slower means giving up on getting better, this episode will change how you think about movement and healing. You'll hear from Jeannie Di Bon, movement therapist and hypermobility/EDS specialist. She shares why starting with...
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Ep 127: When Your Body Becomes a Problem to Solve: Navigating Endometriosis, Medical Trauma, and Identity
What does it actually look like to find a therapist who understands chronic illness, and what kind of work can help when you've spent years being dismissed by the medical system? In this episode, you'll learn how to recognize medical gaslighting in your own story, why somatic work can be…
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Ep 126: "Just Move Differently" Is the Physical Therapy Version of "Just Think Positively" with Dr. Megan Steele
If you've ever been handed a generic exercise plan for pain that's been with you for years — or felt like your provider was treating the injury you had once, not the body you're living in now — this episode gets into why that approach keeps falling short. Chronic pain isn't an acute problem with…
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Ep 125: When Your Illness Has a History: Medical Gaslighting, Invisible Illness, and Why You're Not Imagining It with Emily Mendenhall PhD
If you've ever been dismissed by a doctor, told your symptoms were stress or anxiety, or felt like the medical system wasn't built for people like you — this episode traces exactly how we got here. The history of "hysteria" didn't end; it evolved, and understanding that history might be one of…
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Ep 124: When Your Nervous System Shows the Problem and Has Part of the Solution: MCAS & Mast Cell Disorders with Dr. Amanda Whitehouse
When your symptoms shift daily and no one, not even your doctor, can give you clear answers, the hypervigilance can feel like the only rational response. But what if that constant scanning is actually making your nervous system harder to calm, and there's a way to work with it instead of against...
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Ep 123: If Eating Is So Good for You, Why Does It Feel So Bad with Tiffany Pecoraro RD
If you have an eating disorder and a chronic illness, recovery might not look like what gets celebrated online, and that disconnect can leave you feeling like you're doing it wrong. The missing piece isn't more willpower; it’s a provider who actually understands how these two things interact. In...
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Ep 122: Struggling to Reconnect Clients To Their Bodies? Listen to this.
In this episode, licensed counselor and chronic illness specialist Destiny Davis, LPC, CRC breaks down why sequencing matters in somatic work with chronically ill clients, what gets in the way of felt safety, and how to assess readiness without pathologizing a client's protective responses.…
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Ep 121: What Your Kidney Disease Diet Actually Needs (And What the Internet Got Wrong) with Jen Hernandez RDN
If you have chronic kidney disease, you've probably been told to cut out potassium, avoid phosphorus-rich foods, and brace for dialysis. But what if most of that advice is outdated and the foods you've been avoiding are actually the ones that could protect your kidneys? In this episode, you'll…
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Ep 120: Rethinking Chronic Illness, Healing, and Accessibility with Grace Quantock [Ep 73 REPLAY]
If you've ever felt like you were failing at being sick, like you weren't trying hard enough, being positive enough, or consistent enough, this episode is for you. What if the pressure to heal is actually part of what's making things harder? In this replay from episode 73, you'll hear from Grace...
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Ep 119: Neurodivergence, Chronic Illness, and What the Therapeutic Space Has to Get Right with Dr. Heather Olivier
In this episode, licensed professional counselor and supervisor Dr. Heather Olivier joins us to explore the intersection of neurodivergence and chronic illness—and what it means for both clients and clinicians. Drawing from her perinatal loss research, her clinical work using Relational-Cultural...
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Ep 118: Navigating Relationships When Chronic Illness Changes Everything with Lisa Gray LMFT
In this episode, licensed marriage and family therapist Lisa Gray shares practical strategies for maintaining healthy relationships when chronic illness enters the picture—whether you're navigating high-conflict dynamics or learning to communicate through the unique challenges of chronic pain and...
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Ep 117: Wellness When You're Chronically Ill Isn't What You Think It Is with Dr. Victoria Rodriguez, LPC
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Victoria Rodriguez, PhD, LPC, a licensed professional counselor in New Orleans, Louisiana. In her private practice, she specializes in medical trauma and provides wellness trainings for professionals and healthcare organizations. She also serves on the…
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Ep 116: Why Chronic Illness Requires Specialty | Chronic Illness Therapists Conference
In this episode, therapists Destiny Davis and Victoria Rodriguez explain why chronic illness requires specialized clinical training beyond traditional therapy approaches and discuss the first-ever Chronic Illness Therapist Conference. They explore common treatment goals for chronically ill...
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Ep 115: Why Empathy Is Not Enough For Chronic Illness
In this episode, therapists Destiny Davis and Victoria Rodriguez discuss why empathy alone isn't enough when working with chronically ill clients and share insights about the first-ever Chronic Illness Therapist Conference. They explore the importance of understanding medical terminology,...
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Ep 114: When Money Stress Meets Chronic Illness: What Financial Therapy Actually Is with Megan Stevenson LCSW, CFSW
In this episode, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Financial Social Worker Megan Stevenson shares practical insights on navigating the financial and emotional complexities of chronic illness. Through her private practice, Curiosity Counseling and Consulting, Megan helps individuals…
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Ep 113: For those who don’t know what to say right now
In this episode, I reflect on the emotional and nervous system impacts of current socio-political events. I discuss the progression of my own relationship with news and politics, emphasizing the importance of staying informed while managing emotional and sensory overload. I encourage you to find...
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Ep 112: Learning to Partner With Your Body (Instead of Fighting It) with Jason Therrien DPT
In this episode, physical therapist and health coach Jason Therrien shares his compassionate approach to helping people rebuild trust with their bodies after chronic pain has damaged that relationship. Jason reminds us that most people with chronic pain aren't afraid to move; they've spent years...
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Ep 111: What Therapy Actually Looks Like When You Have POTS with Dr. Laurie Dos Santos
In this episode, clinical psychologist Dr. Laurie Dos Santos shares her approach to supporting adolescents and young adults with POTS, dysautonomia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. With advanced training in these often-dismissed conditions and a background in designing innovative support groups…
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EP 110: The Free Resource That's Helping People With Lung Disease Feel Less Alone with Tiffany Quicke
Tiffany Quicke is a Respiratory Therapist and Certified Asthma Educator and works as a Lung Health Navigator for the American Lung Association. She has over 20 years of experience working in Pulmonary Rehab and has been with the American Lung Association for 2 years. Her primary role includes…
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Ep 109: How to Actually Get Heard by Your Doctors (Without Getting Dismissed) w/ Kayla Thompson-Riviere
In this episode, registered nurse and personal medical strategist Kayla Thompson-Riviere shares practical strategies for getting off what she calls the "medical merry-go-round" when you're stuck, dismissed, or misdiagnosed. Kayla reminds us that even with clinical training, being the patient...
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Ep 108: When Your Doctor Believes You: Finding Care For EDS, POTS, MCAS w/ Kara Pepper, MD
Dr. Kara Pepper joins the podcast to discuss her approach to treating the vastly overlooked triad of EDS, POTS, and MCAS, along with eating disorders. After leaving the commercial healthcare model to open her own practice, Dr. Pepper now spends an hour with patients instead of 10 minutes, giving...
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Ep 107: Finding Safety Despite Medical Trauma with Sarah Stasica LMSW
In this episode, Sarah Stasica, LMSW and founder of the membership community Medical Trauma Support, joins me to talk about the realities of healing from medical trauma and why going slowly might be the best thing you can do for your nervous system. We explore why people isolate during medical...
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Ep 106: Finding Joy While Chronically Ill w/ Dr. Brentia Caldwell-Smith Ph.D., LPC, NCC, ACS, CPCS
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Brentia Caldwell-Smith, founder of the UP Center and a licensed professional counselor who specializes in chronic illness navigation. We discuss disenfranchised grief—the kind of loss that comes with chronic illness that people don't always recognize or...
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Ep 105: When Your Labs Are Normal But Your Body Isn't: Understanding Invisible Illness with Dr. Kara Wada
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kara Wada, a board-certified allergist and immunologist who also lives with Sjögren's disease and dysautonomia. We talk about what happens when your labs come back "normal" but your body is anything but, why 30-40% of people with Sjögren's have normal blood...
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Ep 104: The Emotional Burden of Chronic Illness w/ Kate Zera Kray LCSW
In this episode, clinical social worker and psychotherapist Kate Zera Kray joins Destiny to explore Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and its powerful application for those living with chronic illness. Kate breaks down the three types of "parts" we all have – managers (our organized...
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Ep 103: Your Pain Is FaceTiming, It Wants To Tell You Something w/ Kelly Clark DPT
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kelly Clark, a physical therapist and owner of Patient PT in Bloomington, Indiana, to challenge the popular narrative that chronic pain is a "false alarm." Kelly shares her personal journey with chronic pain and explains why pain is actually valuable…
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Ep 102: Burnout Is Predictable - But Prevention Requires More Than Willpower w/ Kamilah Jones, PharmD, LPC, CRC
In this episode, Destiny sits down with Kamilah Jones, PharmD, LPC, CRC, to explore the crucial difference between stress and burnout, particularly for healthcare professionals. Kamilah shares her personal journey from pharmacist to therapist, including her own experience with burnout while...
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Ep 101: When Past Injuries Cause Current Problems w/ Rick Olderman
In this episode, sports and orthopedic physical therapist Rick Olderman explains why chronic pain is a systems problem, not a component problem, and how our medical system's focus on individual tissues misses the bigger picture. Through fascinating patient stories - like how a 20-year-old ankle...
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Ep 100: When Trying Harder Makes It Worse: A Different Approach to Chronic Illness Recovery
In this episode, I sit down with Shana Evans Basset, a Licensed Professional Counselor from Atlanta, to explore the complex intersection of chronic illness, emotional regulation, and healing. We get into why living with chronic pain is like being trapped in an abusive relationship you can't…
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Ep 99: How Clinical Hypnosis Actually Helps with Gut Issues
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Antonia Repollet to demystify clinical hypnosis and explore how it's revolutionizing treatment for gut-brain disorders like IBS and IBD. We dive into what clinical hypnosis actually is (spoiler: nothing like stage hypnosis), why it's so effective for digestive...
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Ep 98: You Don't Have to Choose Between Conventional Medicine & Holistic Health w/ Rita Gupta, DO
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Rita Gupta, a board-certified family medicine physician and integrative medicine practitioner, to discuss why you don't have to choose between traditional medicine and holistic approaches when managing chronic pain. We explore the three types of pain...
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Ep 97: Beyond Restrictive Diets: Real-World Nutrition Tips for EDS, POTS, and MCAS
In this episode, registered dietitian Louisa O'Grady shares practical, evidence-based nutrition strategies for managing EDS, POTS, and MCAS without falling into restrictive diet patterns. Louisa, who lives with these conditions herself, debunks common myths about low histamine diets (they're…
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Ep 96: When You Actually Need a Registered Dietitian, Not More Therapy w/ Samina Qureshi
In this follow-up episode with registered dietitian Samina Qureshi, we explore her new clinical textbook that tackles something I see all the time in my practice - when chronic GI conditions create eating patterns that look disordered but have nothing to do with weight or body image. Samina and…
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Ep 95: The ADHD Brain Food Everyone Says to Avoid & A Secret Ingredient for ADHD Nutrition w/ Annika Angelo MS
In this episode, I sit down with ADHD nutrition research expert Annika Angelo to bust some of the biggest myths floating around ADHD and diet. We talk about why that viral "78% improvement" elimination diet study is actually BS, why you shouldn't be afraid of fruit, and the truth about Red 40 and...
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Ep 94: At my sickest, I couldn't leave my house
At my sickest, I couldn't leave the house most days. Over 10 years later, I can have full days out without even thinking about it. This is a small part of my real, unfiltered story of living with chronic illness—the struggles with getting diagnosed, what finally started to help, and the hard…
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Ep 93: Medical Micro-Traumas w/ Emma Tynan
Today I sit down with Emma Tynan, an Irish psychotherapist who specializes in medical trauma and chronic illness, bringing both professional expertise from over a decade as a nurse and personal understanding from her own chronic health journey. We explore the often-overlooked micro-traumas of...
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Ep 92: Narcissistic Abuse When It Intersects with Chronic Pain - Insights from Pamela Madsen
In this episode, therapist Pamela Madsen, MS, LPC, explores the often-overlooked connection between narcissistic abuse and chronic pain conditions. Pamela breaks down the four types of narcissistic parents (grandiose, covert, malignant, and communal) and explains how growing up with narcissistic...
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Ep 91: Eliminating Medical Debt: How DollarFor Is Helping Patients Access Hospital Charity Care
This episode features Jared Walker, founder of DollarFor, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating medical debt by making hospital charity care known, easy, and fair. Walker shares how he discovered that most nonprofit hospitals are legally required to provide financial assistance (charity care) to...
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Ep 90: The Medical System Wants To Scapegoat You - Don't Let Them w/ Jackie Williams-Reade, PhD, LMFT, LCPC
Jackie Williams-Reade, a marriage and family therapist with a PhD in medical family therapy, discusses family systems theory and particularly the concept of differentiation, which involves balancing authenticity with the conforming that’s often required in relationships. Jackie explores how...
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Ep 89: Finding Purpose Through Pain - A Therapist's Journey with Chronic Illness w/ Danielle McDowell
In this vulnerable and insightful episode, licensed professional counselor Danielle McDowell shares her journey of navigating professional ambitions while managing fibromyalgia. After experiencing sudden onset of symptoms following the birth of her son, Danielle recounts how she adapted her...
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Ep 88: Trusting Yourself - A Conversation on Women's Health Advocacy w/ Kara Cruz
Destiny Davis speaks with Kara Cruz, a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in women's mental health, particularly perinatal mental health and perimenopause. They discuss the importance of women trusting themselves when advocating for their health needs, as many experience being...
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Ep 87: The Five Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue: Insights from Dr. Jenny Tufenkian
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jenny Tufenkina, a naturopathic physician who shares her framework of five root causes behind chronic fatigue and complex illnesses. Drawing from both her clinical experience and personal journey recovering from fatigue twice in her life, Dr. Jenny walks us…
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Ep 86: Bigger than Pain: Insights on Improving Movement, Sleep, and Healing w/ David McGettigan
In this episode, I chat with David McGettigan, an amazing pain and movement specialist who's been helping people for 15 years recover from chronic pain and other symptoms, like chemical sensitivity and insomnia. David works with folks who've been bounced around the healthcare system without…
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Ep 85: Strength Training For Fibromyalgia w/ Rachel Smith MS, CPT
In this episode, we speak with Rachel Smith, a certified personal trainer with a Master's in Exercise Science who specializes in working with clients with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Rachel shares her personal journey with fibromyalgia, diagnosed in 2010, and how she discovered that strength...
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Ep 85: Strength Training For Fibromyalgia w/ Rachel Smith MS, CPT
In this episode, we speak with Rachel Smith, a certified personal trainer with a Master's in Exercise Science who specializes in working with clients with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Rachel shares her personal journey with fibromyalgia, diagnosed in 2010, and how she discovered that strength...
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Ep 84: The Truth About IBS and Nutrition: Why It's Not Just About Eliminating Foods w/ Samina Qureshi
Samina Qureshi is a registered dietitian specializing in IBS management from a weight-inclusive perspective. She challenges the common approach of endless food elimination, revealing that the standard low FODMAP diet should only last 2-4 weeks, not months or years as many attempt. Samina explains...
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Ep 84: The Truth About IBS and Nutrition: Why It's Not Just About Eliminating Foods
Samina Qureshi is a registered dietitian specializing in IBS management from a weight-inclusive perspective. She challenges the common approach of endless food elimination, revealing that the standard low FODMAP diet should only last 2-4 weeks, not months or years as many attempt. Samina…
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Ep 83: Is my anxiety making me sick? Mini Ep w/ Destiny
Connect with Destiny: Instagram / Facebook / Website ______________________________ 🤝 RESOURCES & WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER ______________________________ 🩺 FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 💬 Clinical Consultation → The Mastermind: A free monthly business and clinical consultation group for...
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Ep 82: Understanding Attachment Styles and Chronic Illness w/ Miranda Campbell LCSW
In this episode, therapist Miranda Campbell, LCSW, co-author of "The Attachment Makeover," joins host Destiny Davis LPC CRC to explore how attachment styles impact chronic illness management. Miranda explains that attachment styles aren't fixed and we can develop "earned secure attachment"…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Disrupting the mental health and medical system for people with chronic, invisible illnesses. We will no longer accept lack of answers, empathy, and guidance from the professionals we are told to trust. It’s not in your head, you are not a burden, and we’ll prove that to you one episode at a time. I'm an Atlanta-based mental health therapist specializing in chronic pain / invisible illnesses. This podcast is for educational and insight purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for mental health treatment. Always seek medical advice before making changes to your health regimens.
HOSTED BY
Destiny Davis LPC CRC
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Chronic Illness Therapist have?
The Chronic Illness Therapist currently has 162 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Chronic Illness Therapist about?
Disrupting the mental health and medical system for people with chronic, invisible illnesses. We will no longer accept lack of answers, empathy, and guidance from the professionals we are told to trust. It’s not in your head, you are not a burden, and we’ll prove that to you one episode at a time....
How often does The Chronic Illness Therapist release new episodes?
The Chronic Illness Therapist publishes regularly with 162 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Chronic Illness Therapist?
You can listen to The Chronic Illness Therapist on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Chronic Illness Therapist?
The Chronic Illness Therapist is created and hosted by Destiny Davis LPC CRC.
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