Treating Chronic Illness in Context
Relational and Family-Based Approaches for Supporting Clients and Caregivers
- Speaker:
- Jodi Taub, LCSW
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 04 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
Jul 17, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS150884
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
Chronic illness doesn’t just affect the patient. It reshapes the entire support system.
Caregiving stress, shifting roles, identity changes, and relationship strain often become some of the most challenging parts of the experience. In this practical session, you’ll learn how to address the relational impact of illness and support both patients and the people who care for them.
You’ll learn how to:
- Identify common relational stressors that emerge in chronic illness, including role changes, caregiver burnout, and loss of independence
- Use practical clinical interventions to support patients while also working effectively with partners, families, and caregivers
- Help support systems adapt to the long-term emotional and psychological impact of chronic illness while maintaining connection, communication, and resilience
Credit
Speaker
Jodi Taub, LCSW Related seminars and products
Jodi Taub, LCSW, is a private practice psychotherapist with almost three decades of experience providing individual, couples, family, and group therapy. She specializes in chronic illness and rare disease, supporting patients and caregivers in managing health anxiety, medical trauma, and the psychological impact of living with complex health care conditions. She also works with mood disorders, OCD, grief and loss, and relationship issues. In addition to her clinical work, Jodi is a nationally recognized published writer, speaker, and researcher. She lectures nationally, facilitates support groups for patients and caregivers living with chronic health care conditions, and contributes to professional education and advocacy within the chronic illness and rare disease communities. Jodi is recognized for her evidence-based, relationship-centered approach that fosters resilience and meaningful connections. Jodi is the author of the book, More Than a Patient: Building Relationships and Creating a Meaningful Life When You Have a Chronic Illness. Jodi is also a patient who lives with multiple complex health care conditions.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Jodi Taub maintains a private practice and earns royalties as a published author. She previously served as a consultant for CSL Behring. She also receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. Jodi Taub has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Jodi Taub is a member of the Association of Jewish Psychologists and a volunteer with Immune Deficiency Foundation.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
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Objectives
- Identify common psychological, relational, and caregiver challenges associated with chronic illness, including role transitions, identity shifts, and changes in family and social support systems.
- Explain the impact of chronic illness on patients, caregivers, and family systems, including effects on emotional functioning, relationships, and overall well-being.
- Apply evidence-based therapeutic approaches (e.g., cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness-based, trauma-informed, relational, and meaning-centered) to support coping, resilience, and caregiver sustainability, including strategies to address burden, compassion fatigue, and communication challenges.
Outline
Introduction: Chronic Illness as a Relational Experience
- Moving beyond an individual-only model of illness
- Understanding chronic illness as a family and relational system
- Risks, limitations, and scope of clinical practice
Psychological and Family Systems Impact
- Role shifts, uncertainty, and invisible losses
- Emotional impact on patients and loved ones
- Adapting to ongoing medical uncertainty within family systems
Caregiving in Chronic Illness
- Caregiver burden and compassion fatigue
- Role strain, identity shifts, and relational changes
- Balancing caregiving responsibilities with personal well-being
- Supporting caregiver resilience and preventing burnout
Navigating Relationship Changes in Chronic Illness
- Role shifts within couples, families, and caregiving relationships
- Identity changes and adjustment to long-term illness and health fluctuations
- Navigating autonomy, dependence, and evolving needs over time
- Maintaining connection while adapting to new limitations
- Changes in social connection and support systems
Clinical Interventions for Supporting Patients and Caregivers
- Reflective and Narrative Tools
- Guided journaling to process illness experiences and emotional responses
- Narrative reframing to reconstruct identity beyond illness
- Meaning-making practices to support adjustment and resilience
- Cognitive and Emotional Coping Tools
- Cognitive restructuring for catastrophic thinking and health anxiety
- Values clarification to maintain purpose and direction
- Emotion regulation strategies for stress, grief, and frustration
- Relationship and Communication Tools
- Structured communication exercises for patients and caregivers
- Boundary-setting frameworks for changing roles and responsibilities
- Partner and caregiver check-ins to maintain connection
- Illness Management Tools
- Energy pacing for fluctuating symptoms and fatigue
- Expectation adjustment for illness-related limitations
- Problem-solving strategies for healthcare navigation and daily challenges
- Social Support and Connection Tools
- Support system mapping
- Peer and group-based connection strategies
- Building community and illness-specific support networks
Medical Trauma in Chronic Illness
Repeated medical procedures and healthcare-related stressors
Trauma responses in patients and caregivers
Clinical considerations for trauma-informed care
Building Resilience and Strengthening Relationships
Validation and normalization of chronic illness experiences
Meaning-making and psychological flexibility
Promoting connection and adaptive coping within families
Supportive Mental Health Services and Community Resources
- The role of psychotherapy in chronic illness care
- Benefits of peer support and clinician-facilitated groups
- Reducing isolation through community connection
- Supporting access to appropriate mental health resources
Evidence-Based Clinical Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
- Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP)
- Narrative Therapy
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
- Family and couple interventions
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
- Chronic illness unfolds across individuals and relationships, quietly reshaping both
- Adaptation often lives in what’s unspoken—roles shifting, emotions reorganizing, connection renegotiated
- Resilience emerges through attunement, validation, and the search for meaning within uncertainty
- Thoughtful, evidence-informed care can help sustain flexibility, connection, and a livable path forward
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Nurses
- Other Mental Health Professionals
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