There’s a difference between acute pain from an injury and chronic pain which is pain lasting longer than 3 months. If your problem is chronic and you’ve ruled out a tumor, infection, or acute injury, I can probably help you get relief. Here are some conditions best treated by this approach:

- Pain in any body part – back, neck, hips, shoulders, knees, feet, hands…

- Migraines

- Fibromyalgia

- Chronic fatigue

- Dizziness, poor balance, & lightheadedness

- GI problems and food allergies

- Painful sex

- Bladder problems

- Insomnia

- Nausea

- Itching, burning, tingling and other unusual sensations

- Severe allergies & skin rashes

- Light & sound sensitivity

This list is not exhaustive. Many patients are given very specific diagnoses for their conditions, but they are just descriptive of the problem in medical lingo; they do not speak to the mechanism of the disease or the solution to them.

No! Well, yes… but not in the way that they mean when they dismiss you and your pain. If you have seen all the doctors, run all the tests, tried all the treatments and nothing is working (or something does work, only for another symptom to show up soon after) that means the symptom is likely due to a problem in your brain, NOT in your body. But I want to be clear – that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. And it doesn’t mean you’re a slacker or a faker. You aren’t making it up and it’s not your fault. There is great research now that explains the mechanisms by which chronic pain and other sensations are generated by the brain. Understanding that science is the key to retraining your brain.

Nope. All pain is real. It’s just as real as if you had an open wound in your body. Pain is always generated by the brain, even when there’s an obvious injury in the tissue. It’s just that the solution to chronic pain is not where you’ve been looking. Usually (but not always) chronic health conditions are brain problems, not problems in the tissues of your body. That’s backed up by the last two decades of research on pain and neuroplasticity, but the word hasn’t gotten out much yet, even among most medical professionals. So the solutions to acute pain verses chronic pain are different. You need a doctor for the former, a pain-informed therapist for the latter.

When I first got my Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology, we were told we couldn’t treat pain, that we could only treat the psychological aspects and effects of pain. But the last two decades of neuroscience research have changed that. We now know that the brain is constantly changing in response to what we do every single day, constantly learning and adjusting to make whatever we do often easier (a process they call neuroplasticity)… and that includes feeling sensations of pain, fatigue or other symptoms. The upshot for those suffering like this is that if doctors haven’t found an explanation or medical solution for your symptom, there is a very good chance that it is learned. And that means you can unlearn it! And mental, emotional and behavioral learning is most definitely within the purview of mental health. That means a pain-informed psychotherapist is the perfect person to help you. Most of us don’t question why we get grumpy when we’re sick. The body impacts the mind, right? The reverse is also true. Your mind is impacting your body all the time. But getting at what’s in the mind that’s causing body problems, well, that can take some digging...

Because I’ve been there. I lived with chronic unexplained pain and fatigue mixed with a myriad of mysterious symptoms that came and went for years. I know how chronic health problems threaten your relationships, social life, beloved hobbies, career aspirations, and finances, not to mention your mood and mental health. I know exactly what it’s like to be trying so hard to heal, wanting so badly to get back to living life fully.

I have training and experience in all the skills you’ll need to heal. I am certified in Alan Gordon’s Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT).* I’ve also done training with the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association** and the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS). And I have extensive training in treating trauma which is often part of healing from chronic physical symptoms. (See my website section on individual therapy for more info on that.) Most of all, I’ve walked the path of healing myself, so you get the benefits of all the lessons I learned the hard way, without all the detours and dead ends.

It depends on so many different factors, there is no way for me to know. For a lucky few, just learning the pain science is all they need and the pain goes away. But for most, it is a process of addressing complex emotions generating the pain and learning the skills to train your brain out of pain on a daily basis. To a large extent, how quickly you heal is significantly impacted by how motivated you are to put time and attention into retraining your brain, as well as how stressful your life is to you currently. The length of time you’ve had your symptoms, as well as the number and intensity of symptoms sometimes impacts your healing time, but not always.

Besides the primary goal of helping you unlearn your chronic physical symptoms, I can also help with these common challenges of living with them until you do:

- Managing the stress of dealing with our broken healthcare system.

- Advocating for yourself with medical practitioners who often imply “it’s all in your head,” blame you for being sick, or give simplistic answers to your complex problem.

- Choosing between the various alternative healthcare options, especially when financial resources are limited.

- Developing a mindfulness practice which will help with any health problem, but which research has shown to be particularly helpful in decreasing inflammation and managing pain.

- Grieving losses incurred as a result of your health limitations, including finances, relationships, and career opportunities.

- Communicating with significant others and friends about your needs and limitations while you heal.

- Finding the balance between accepting your current limitations and pushing yourself just a bit beyond your current level of functioning to regain ground… safely and gradually to avoid setbacks.

- Exploring the relationship between your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and physical symptoms you are experiencing.

- Listening to your body and honoring its messages.

- Practicing self-compassion.

Yes! Because even if your symptoms do have a medical explanation or solution, many of the above skills listed in the previous answer could still help you cope with and/or decrease the symptoms you experience. There are ways to figure out which type of symptoms you have if you aren’t sure.