Listen to Noomii's interview with Hannah Voetberg MA, MSW

About Me

After an injury or illness changes their body and capabilities, adults who were once independent, active, and high-achieving struggle to rebuild their identity and sense of agency. They feel trapped in a life that suddenly feels smaller, uncertain, and dictated by others.

They may find themselves feeling powerless, afraid, and invisible after disability or illness.

They are intelligent, capable, and determined — but currently caught in a web of exhaustion, grief, and social misunderstanding. They consume information from online disability communities and self-help content but rarely find anything that speaks to thriving. They’re skeptical of quick fixes yet crave someone who “gets it.”

Society’s unspoken message is that illness equals incapacity — that once you’re disabled, your life should shrink. This conditioning gets internalized until people unconsciously start setting their own limits. The real barrier isn’t the disability; it’s the social story that says they can’t have purpose, agency, or success anymore. This belief is reinforced by the medical system and the well-meaning people around them, leaving them without models for how to thrive beyond survival.

My approach is deeply responsive and integrative. I blend pain, depression, and energy management with solution-oriented tools, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and empowerment coaching. My background in rehabilitation and adaptive technology brings practical understanding of accommodations that restore autonomy, confidence, and self-direction. Clients learn to take charge of their own wellness and success through individualized action plans designed to build momentum and independence within 90 days.

Key words:
chronic illness
disability
injury
pain
depression
FMS
CFS
wellness
high achievers
transition
self agency
independence