Helping you move towards health, both physically and emotionally.
Specialized mental health therapy for chronic pain, chronic illness, cancer, and medically unexplained symptoms. We use evidence-based approaches to help reduce chronic symptoms and navigate the emotional ups and downs of living with a medical condition. Sessions are offered in-person in Richmond, VA and virtually across 43 PSYPACT participating states.
Living with a health condition is exhausting. Therapy can help.
It can feel as though your whole life revolves around appointments, tests, medications, and managing symptoms that don’t always make sense. You might wonder if you’ll ever feel “normal” again or how to keep going when your body feels unpredictable and overwhelming. Over time, life can start to feel smaller, harder, and more difficult to navigate.
You’re not alone. At Virginia Health and Medical Psychology, we take a a mind–body approach to helping people with chronic illness, chronic pain, and health-related stress. Together, we’ll work to understand what your body is doing, create space for difficult emotional experiences, and help your nervous system feel safer and more regulated. As that happens, it becomes easier to build routines that support your health and start expanding your life again
Areas of Specialization
01 Therapy for Chronic Pain
Chronic pain doesn’t just affect the body, it impacts your sleep, mood, energy, and even relationships. Learn more about pain psychology and whether it may be helpful for you.
02 Therapy for Cancer and Cancer Survivors
A cancer diagnosis brings stress, fear, changes in relationships, and worries about the future. Even if you’re in survivorship, you may still struggle with fear of recurrence. Learn more about therapy for cancer
03 Therapy for Chronic Illness
Treatment for people with chronic illness focuses on the emotional and daily challenges that come with conditions like lupus, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or crohn’s. Learn more below.
04 Therapy for IBS and disorders of the gut-brain interaction
By calming a sensitized nervous system and addressing the stress and emotional patterns that influence digestion, many people experience meaningful relief from symptoms.
05 Therapy for Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Symptoms that have been evaluated, often times over and over, with no identifiable explanation. These symptoms may have an origin in nervous system disruption rather than structural disease.
Meet Dr. Jessica Grove
Licensed Clinical Health Psychologist
As a health psychologist, I’ve seen firsthand the emotional toll chronic illness and chronic pain have on people’s lives. I created VAHMP to fill in gaps in healthcare and partner with you to create meaningful improvements in your life and health.
⟡ Licensed Clinical Psychologist
⟡ PSYPACT licensed
⟡ APA Accredited fellowship in clinical health psychology
⟡ Experience working with chronic conditions, cancer, neurological conditions, bariatric surgery candidates, transplant recipients, and chronic pain patients
A Different Approach to Chronic Symptoms
01 Calming the nervous system
Helping your body move out of constant high alert so it can respond to sensations with less intensity.
02Understanding how the brain and body influence symptoms
Learning how the brain interprets signals from the body, and how those patterns can be reshaped.
03Reducing fear and reactivity around physical sensations
Building confidence in your body so symptoms feel less threatening and less disruptive.
04 Processing the emotional toll of living with illness
Creating space to work through the grief, frustration, and uncertainty that often come with health challenges.
By working alongside your doctors and other providers, we can give you additional strategies, emotional support, and a sense of control over your health journey.
In a world that makes you feel out of place with your diagnosis, you belong here.
Living with a medical condition changes the way you see yourself and how others see you. The world is more difficult for you to navigate - from finding restaurants that cater to your dietary needs, to making sure you have supplies on hand to address any medical fallout, or needing more breaks on outings. Things take more energy and time for you. Here, we understand that. And we’re here to navigate those complexities with you.
