Chronic Illness
Process Group
An online group to process chronic illness in a queer/poly/kink-affirming space.
Are you living with a chronic illness?
Do you ever try to mask symptoms because of the responses you get from friends, family, and coworkers? Are you looking to connect with people who know what it feels like? Whether it be an autoimmune disease, neurological disorder, or chronic pain, it can feel very isolating to process grief, and navigate relationships and the medical system.
About:
This is a closed, ongoing process group for individuals in California living with a chronic illness that impacts daily living. Members will have the space to process the experience of navigating illness in an ableist society and how that impacts their relationships. There will also be space to discuss the intersection of chronic illness, kink and poly. No specific illness is required to join the group.
Process groups have a unique format and are slightly different from support groups. While this group does aim to offer support for issues that arise in our daily lives, a process group is typically more concerned with “the here and now” of the group process. It will be a safe place to practice interpersonal skills and examine how chronic illness impacts our interpersonal relationships with the help of a skilled facilitator. In this case, the group facilitator has lived experience with chronic illness.
This is a closed group which means that the same members consistently participate. New members are periodically added when a space becomes available.
Who’s Included:
- Any gender, gay, straight, bi, pan, queer, demi, poly, kinky.
- Age 20+
- Located in California
- Committed to weekly meetings to talk and listen openly
- Commit to work in an anti-racist, LGBQTIA+, kinky and poly-affirming environment
When/Where/How Much:
Thursdays 4-5:30pm starting May 2023
Meet over a HIPAA-Compliant Zoom Room
$75/session, paid monthly at the beginning of the month. A few reduced-fee spots are available. One 50-minute intake at a reduced rate, $100
Still recruiting for new members.
Facilitated by
Marjorie Boggs Vazquez, AMFT (She/They)
Marjorie Boggs Vazquez, AMFT will lead this group. Marjorie is a Registered Associate MFT #131624 (Supervised by David F Khalili, LMFT #89087) working at Rouse Relational Wellness in San Francisco, CA, who struggles with a chronic illness and has personal lived experience with medical trauma. She specializes in working with individuals working through gender and sexuality issues, those healing from trauma- sexual assault and IPV focus, queer and trans issues, and those wanting to process polyamory/kink.