Ep 129: What Athletes and Chronically Ill People Have in Common with Kelsey Ruffing LCPC
The Chronic Illness Therapist
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 almost exactly the same way after a chronic illness diagnosis.
In this episode, you'll hear from Kelsey Ruffing, MA, MS, LCPC, who draws a direct line between an athlete being ignored by a coach and a chronically ill patient being dismissed by a doctor, and explains why both create the same kind of lasting trust injury.
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🩺 FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
💬 Clinical Consultation
→ The Collective: The Chronic Illness Therapist Collective is a consultation community for therapists, PTs, OTs, and RDs who work with chronically ill clients. Bring the case that's been sitting with you all week, get business questions answered by people who actually run chronic illness practices, and stop being the only provider in your circle who understands this work. NBCC-approved CE opportunities included.
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→ The Chronic Illness Therapists Conference — 2027: The 2026 conference was just the beginning. We're returning to Atlanta (new venue!) in October 2027 — in person and virtually. Early bird pricing is live now.
→ Past CE Workshops Browse past on-demand continuing education workshops.
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🛋️Therapy:
→ Therapy Intensives with Destiny: Half-day and full-day intensive therapy sessions are now available for clients in Georgia, Florida, and Colorado. A good option if weekly sessions aren't working for your schedule — or if you want to do deeper work in a shorter window.
🧑💻Non-therapy Support Groups/Education
→ Latest Workshops Here
→ Welcome to the Waiting Room is a low-cost membership run by Destiny and guest experts each month, including:
General support groups, 2–4 Fridays per month at 12 EST
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Monthly community education workshops on topics relevant to life with chronic illness with new expert guests each month
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The Chronic Illness Therapist Podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing shared in this podcast — by Destiny, guests, or anyone else — constitutes medical advice, mental health treatment, or a therapeutic relationship. Listening to this podcast does not create a client-provider relationship of any kind. Always consult with your own qualified healthcare providers before making decisions about your medical care, mental health treatment, or medications. If you are in crisis, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.