You may have spent a lot of time and energy working with doctors who have failed to provide relief from your physical pain. We take a different route. Our chronic pain work is not about symptom management. Instead, using a mind-body approach coupled with Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), we look to get to the origin of your pain to better understand and ultimately break your fear-pain cycle.
Chronic pain has roots in your brain and in old psychological injuries. Most likely, your brain is stuck on high alert. Additionally, you probably suffer from psychological injuries such as experiences of parents who were extremely controlling, microaggressions and trauma related to racism, sexism, or homophobia; having parents who are mentally ill or loved ones who were overly judgemental, critical or demanding, or witnessing or surviving traumatic experiences. Your body—in grappling with the psychological impact of your experiences—expresses your internalized and/or emotional and psychic pain
When you’ve spent time, especially in childhood, in an environment and/or system that involves neglect and/or abuse, one where you may be powerless, you’ll carry that ordeal with you, well past the initial experiences. You may think that you’ve moved on from these experiences, but your body may be telling you otherwise—in the form of physical pain. You likely have been taught to keep your feelings about your past to yourself, and may avoid thinking about them. But your brain is still on high alert manifesting as painful bodily sensations. You may inadvertently be perfectionistic, overly self critical or self conscious/conscientious as a result, which puts pressure on your nervous system and makes you unable to relax and feel safe. You may be left with a significant amount of pent-up anger and fear.
When you haven’t developed the ability to express your emotions, particularly rage, fear, and sorrow in a safe environment, those emotions rattle around inside you and come out as chronic pain.
In mind-body therapy for chronic pain, modeled after Dr. John Sarno, we offer you a non-judgemental space, where our guiding questions will help you bring forward the troubles, traumas, and difficult relationships that manifest as physical pain.
Our process involves teaching you to feel and to express your feelings in healthy, non-destructive ways using somatic tracking techniques. The goal is to cure your chronic pain through finding alternative ways to express your repressed rage, fear, helplessness, and hopelessness and new ways to soothe yourself and give your brain more messages of safety and calm.
We have set out to offer mind-body therapy that works with you to find the origin of your pain. Instead of looking at surface-level physical symptoms, and trying to cure chronic pain from there, we aim for the source.
We want to work with you to help you say anything, to help you to talk openly and honestly about your difficult experiences in life. This will help you heal your chronic pain and develop greater coping skills going forward.
People who have seen multiple medical doctors without finding any cause or explanation for their pain.
People who experience unexplained chronic pain or illness.
People who deal with long-term, medication-resistant chronic pain.
People who have chronic pain and have survived traumatic experiences.
People who have found their chronic pain has led to fear of everyday activities.
People who have had very difficult or challenging relationships with one or more family members.
People who have been brushed off by medical professionals for their chronic pain.
People who deal with chronic pain and have a hard time knowing and expressing their emotions.
People who appreciate a holistic approach to chronic pain that looks at the source, not just the symptoms.
People who may have been successful at using a mind-body approach in the past, but are having a resurgence of unexplained pain symptoms.
People interested in using Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
Some common types of chronic pain that Pain Reprocessing Therapy and Mind-Body therapy can help you with (not limited to):
Back pain
Shoulder Pain
Limb pain
TMJ
IBS/GERD
Migraines and tension headaches
Seizures
Joint pain
Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue
Anxiety
Depression
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Dr. Jen Joseph is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Group Psychotherapist, and PSYPACT approved provider. She is trained in Pain Reprocessing Therapy and uses a Mind-Body approach. She has additional training in yoga, massage therapy, mindfulness, and meditation. She is a graduate of the California School of Professional Psychology and the Center for Group Studies. She uses a psychodynamic / psychoanalytic orientation complemented with Pain Reprocessing Therapy and a mind-body approach. She offers individual and group therapy.
It can be intimidating to share deep, difficult, personal aspects of your past with a therapist. However, once you establish a strong therapeutic alliance with someone, in a confidential, accepting space, delving into your unexpressed emotions and unresolved past becomes life changing.
As you’ve struggled with chronic pain, you’ve likely encountered things you think are making your pain worse. You then fear those things, and avoid them, to prevent further pain. This is biological. Our brain seeks to avoid things that we associate with pain. Pain is fear plus bodily sensations.
While it may not be what originally triggered your pain, we aim to help you discover how your fear of your pain is part of the reason your pain continues. Your brain may associate specific situations with causing pain, and fear the situation as a result. But the fear or hypervigilance about your body’s sensations is often what continues to trigger your pain in the situation. This is a fear-pain cycle.
Chronic pain therapy can help free you from the fear-pain cycle that entraps you.
Mind-body therapy has additional benefits, beyond just relieving your pain. A more solid understanding of yourself, and how you suppress the impact of your problems and/or trauma, is needful work on its own.
Knowing yourself is powerful, and therapy through a mind-body lens can empower you. You’ll work to more deeply understand and accept yourself, including your difficult experiences and feelings.
Psychodynamic therapy will empower you and give you greater clarity about your problems and your relationships dynamics, and how these things impact your health.
It is no small thing to take an honest look at the difficulties you’ve experienced in life. It is emotionally hard to delve into your feelings and traumas, and requires courage and risk taking to make it possible. It is worth it to try to resolve them. Talking with a person whom you feel safe with, whom you can build trust with, makes all the difference. The relationship that you build with your therapist is one of the most important factors in your healing.
Committing to do the work with a therapist dedicated to helping you heal from chronic pain means you’ll have someone alongside you on your recovery journey. Processing your suppressed feelings and connecting the dots between your emotions and your physical pain through talk therapy will help you to alleviate your pain. Therapy can be a space to do the hard work, and we want to support you through it.
You may have more questions after reading about our approach to healing from chronic pain. Here are some frequently asked questions. If your questions are not answered, please feel free to contact us today.
I agree with Dr. John Sarno that you probably suffer from TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome) or Neuroplastic Pain (a term developed from Pain Reprocessing Therapy). Your pain symptoms are indicative of your brain attempting to cope with constant vigilance, pressure and an overactive sympathetic nervous system.
Yes! There have been measurable improvements in pain levels, reduction in medication needs, and increase in activity levels for chronic pain sufferers with an approach that looks at emotional roots to chronic pain.
**Source linked here: Schechter et al, 2007
We are happy to discuss our methods with you during a free phone consultation! We can also email you a resource list if you send us a quick note.
If you’re interested in getting to the root of your chronic pain, and finding relief that lasts, our therapeutic approach is for you. We want to help you find ways to express and understand yourself that give you a path away from your physical pain.
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