Sex & Couples Therapy for Cancer and Chronic Illness in Falls Church, VA
Helping individuals and couples navigate intimacy, identity, and connection after illness
Lauren Broschak, LCSW, LICSW | Licensed in VA and DC
When illness or treatment changes your body, your relationship, or your sense of self, reconnection is possible.
In-person in Falls Church, VA • Telehealth in VA & DC
Sex therapy after illness that helps you:
Reconnect with your body, sexuality, & relationship
You don’t recognize your body, yourself, or your sexuality in the way you once did. Illness has shifted something, leaving you feeling disconnected from parts of yourself that once felt alive, interested in intimacy, and connected to your partner(s).
Sex therapy for chronic illness offers space to rebuild connection and rediscover pleasure in a way that honors your experience. Whether individually or with your partner(s), this work can support healing, rediscovery, and a renewed sense of connection.
You may benefit from sex & couples therapy for cancer and chronic illness if:
Your sexual desire has decreased, and it feels lost. You feel broken and are worried you’re failing your partner.
After illness, everything has changed. You don’t recognize your own body, and you feel like a different person now.
You two love each other, deeply, yet something feels distant. You miss the ease your relationship used to have.
Touch used to feel natural and necessary in your relationship. Now it feels uncertain, and you’re both waiting for cues that aren’t happening anymore.
Now that your illness is over or managed, you notice a flood of emotions, and you’re having a hard time transitioning back into your life.
Sex and couples therapist in Falls Church, VA
Meet Lauren Broschak, LCSW, LICSW
Sex & Couples Therapist
in Falls Church, VA
Specializing in intimacy, illness, and relationships
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Virtual therapy available throughout Virginia and Washington, DC
Hi, I’m Lauren, an LCSW for those navigating cancer and chronic illness in Falls Church, VA. I help individuals and couples through sex & relationship therapy reconnect with themselves and their relationships in ways that feel genuine, intimate, and meaningful. Many of the people I work with are navigating changes in identity, intimacy, or connection, often after being diagnosed with or treated for a serious or chronic illness.
I believe you are the expert on your own experience. Therapy is a space where we can slow down, listen more closely, and gently make sense of what’s been happening. Together, we’ll take a collaborative approach, drawing from a range of evidence-based therapies to support what feels most helpful and meaningful to you. At the core of my work is a focus on kindness, authenticity, and connection.
I’m LGBTQ+ affirming, sex-positive, kink-allied, and trauma-informed, and I welcome people from all walks of life and relationship structures.
MY APPROACH
Sex & couples therapy in Falls Church, VA
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We start by making sense of what has changed
You notice that things don’t feel the way they used to. It may show up in your body, your relationship, your sexuality, or your sense of self. For many of the people I work with, cancer, chronic illness, or treatment has changed how intimacy, desire, or connection feel.Without rushing to fix anything, we take time to understand your experience and where the disconnection is showing up for you and in your relationships.
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Understanding your relationship with your body and your sexuality
As we work together, we explore what has shaped the way you relate to your body, your sexuality, and to those closest to you.That might include:
what you learned about intimacy growing up
how your body feels now
how illness, treatment, or life transitions have changed your experience of desire, connection, or closeness
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Looking at the patterns underneath
In session, this often looks like slowing down real moments. What happens when:
you try to reach for your partner
when you pull away
when something feels hard to say aloud
We begin to notice the patterns underneath:
the parts of you that protect
the emotions that feel overwhelming
the ways your body responds to closeness, stress, or vulnerability.
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Moving toward the relationship you want
Therapy isn't about becoming a different person. It's about finding ways to relate to yourself and others that feel more aligned with who you are today.Together, we may work on:
communicating with greater openness and honesty
understanding the experiences that continue to shape intimacy
feeling more at home in your body
creating space for closeness, pleasure, and connection to grow in ways that feel natural and meaningful
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Recognizing the losses that come with change
Many of the people I work with don't initially think of themselves as grieving. Yet illness and major life changes often bring losses that are easy to overlook but deeply felt.Together, we may explore grief related to:
changes in your body
shifts in identity
changes in intimacy or sexuality
the life or future you thought you would have
Rather than rushing past those experiences, we take time to understand what they have meant to you while also exploring how connection, joy, and meaning can continue to grow alongside them.
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Over time…
Many people find themselves:
feeling more at home in their body
communicating more openly about intimacy, needs, and boundaries
approaching themselves with greater kindness and understanding
discovering that connection and pleasure are still possible, even if they look different than they once did
Therapy services in Falls Church, VA
Maybe your body doesn't respond the way it used to. Desire feels different, intimacy has become more complicated, or you no longer feel at home in your sexuality. Therapy helps you understand those changes, reconnect with yourself, and build an intimate life that reflects who you are today.
Sex therapy
Therapy for
chronic illness
Supervision should be a place where you can ask questions, think out loud, and grow without feeling like you have to have all the answers. Together, we'll strengthen your clinical thinking, build confidence in your decision-making, and help you develop a voice that feels authentic to you.
LCSW supervision
You still love each other, but something feels different. Maybe conversations turn into arguments, you're feeling more like roommates than partners, or intimacy has become harder to find. Together, we'll understand what's happening beneath those patterns and begin building new ways of communicating, reconnecting, and finding your way back to one another.
Couples therapy
Living with illness can change the way you experience your body, your relationships, your work, and your sense of self. Together, we'll understand what those changes have meant for you, navigate the grief and uncertainty that often accompany them, and explore what a meaningful life can look like from here.
Therapy for
women’s sexual health
After illness or treatment, your body may no longer feel like your own. Desire, confidence, intimacy, and your sense of womanhood can shift in unexpected ways. Together, we'll understand what's changed and explore what it means to reconnect with your body, your sexuality, and yourself from where you are now.
Grief can follow many kinds of loss - someone you love, your health, your body, a relationship, or the life you expected. Together, we'll understand what your loss has meant to you, honor its place in your story, and explore what healing and moving forward can look like from where you are now.
Grief therapy
Reflections from those I’ve had the privilege
of working with and alongside
If this speaks to you, let’s connect.
Book a free consultation with me
I offer a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation so we can get to know one another, talk about what brings you to therapy, and see whether working together feels like a good fit. There's no pressure—just a chance to connect.
→ Request a consultation
Schedule your first appointment
If we decide to move forward, we'll find a time that works for your schedule, and I'll take care of the next steps, so you know exactly what to expect.
Have additional questions?
If there's something you're still wondering about, feel free to ask during our consultation or visit my FAQ page for answers to common questions about therapy, fees, and getting started.
