My name is Kathryn. I am an ACT therapist who has Fibromyalgia and ME. I specialise in helping people just like me who struggle with pain and fatigue.
What is ACT Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, usually shortened to ACT, is a type of talking therapy that helps you build a different relationship with difficult thoughts, feelings, pain and fatigue and develop greater psychological flexibility.
When we struggle with pain, fatigue, anxiety, low mood or other difficult emotions, it is natural to want to get rid of them or try to push them away. We might avoid situations that make us anxious, try to stop unwanted thoughts, distract ourselves from uncomfortable feelings or wait until we feel better before doing the things that matter to us. These strategies can sometimes help in the short term, however over time, trying to control how we think and feel can begin to control how we live.
ACT therapy takes a different approach.
Rather than focusing on getting rid of difficult thoughts and feelings, ACT helps you learn how to make room for them while still doing the things that are important to you. ACT encourages individuals to identify their personal values and take meaningful actions that align with those values, even when faced with challenges such as pain and fatigue. Through mindfulness, acceptance, and behaviour change strategies, ACT aims to help people build a richer, more fulfilling life despite their pain.
How does ACT help Fibromyalgia and ME
Living with ME or Fibromyalgia can affect much more than your physical health. Trying to stay positive can be extremely difficult and many people with these conditions struggle with low mood, depression, anxiety and low self esteem. Pain, fatigue, brain fog and other symptoms can change what you are able to do, while the unpredictability of symptoms can make it difficult to plan ahead.
It is understandable to want symptoms to improve before getting back to the things that matter to you. You might find yourself thinking:
“I’ll do that when I have more energy,”
“What if this makes my symptoms worse?”
“I can't cope with feeling like this today.”
ACT does not reduce the underlying disease or cure symptoms, but instead aims to improve your emotional wellbeing and how you respond to pain, fatigue and other difficult experiences. ACT does not ask you to ignore your body, push through pain or fatigue, or do more than your health allows. Instead, ACT helps you explore how you can live a meaningful life alongside the difficulties that are already there.
What I offer
1:1 personalised ACT sessions:
To understand your values.
Start moving you towards a meaningful life.
Learn to handle difficult thoughts, emotions and sensations.
Help you to live more in the present moment.
Price:
£70 per 60 minute ACT session.
How to book
Send me an email at: livingbeyondthepain.act@gmail.com
Or use my booking form below.
About me:
My name is Kathryn. I am an ACT therapist who has Fibromyalgia and ME. This is why I feel so passionate about specialising in ACT and helping others like me to have the most fulfilling life possible, despite our conditions.
My journey to becoming an ACT therapist has been shaped by my own experience of living with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia. As a young adult, I was incredibly active, competing in judo at national and international level while also pursuing performing arts and later working as a professional singer. Despite living with chronic fatigue, IBS and anxiety from an early age, I continued to push myself, eventually training as a primary school teacher. Looking back, I now understand that many years of burnout were also influenced by undiagnosed ADHD, which wasn’t diagnosed until I was 35. Over time, my health deteriorated significantly, and I experienced repeated cycles of burnout that left me unable to work, often bedbound and struggling with even the simplest daily tasks. After becoming a mother, my symptoms became even more severe, and I found myself relying on mobility aids and having to step away from the career and hobbies I loved.
Receiving diagnoses of both ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia finally brought some answers, but it was discovering Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that truly transformed my life. ACT didn’t cure my conditions, but it changed my relationship with them. It helped me manage anxiety, rebuild my sense of purpose and begin living a rich, meaningful life alongside chronic illness. Inspired by my own experience, I trained as an ACT therapist so I could support others facing similar challenges. Today, I combine professional training with lived experience to help people navigate the emotional impact of chronic illness with compassion, understanding and hope.
