Therapy for
Chronic Pain
Does it feel like chronic pain is controlling your life?
Do you find yourself frequently distracted by pain?
Do you feel exhausted or worn down most days?
Do you find yourself turning down social plans you would have preferred to accept due to pain?
Does pain disrupt your ability to sleep?
Do you feel like you are pushing yourself to your limits most days and still not feeling accomplished?
Do you find yourself pretending that everything is fine?
Living with chronic pain due to an illness, nerve damage, migraines, fibromyalgia, arthritis, post-surgical recovery, etc. can disrupt daily living, lead to more isolation, and increase stress levels.
Chronic pain does not need to be the status quo.
Our brains are biologically programmed to respond to pain and limit movement due to fears that further damage will occur to our bodies. All of our experiences of pain are filtered through and perceived by our brains.
While we once believed that pain was equivalent to damage, research shows that our brains act as a gateway to pain. This does not mean that the pain your pain is made up, that you are too sensitive, or that you are overexaggerating your pain. Instead, our thoughts and feelings can either open the floodgates for pain or we can learn to use them to close the gateway to pain.
Our goal with therapy for chronic pain is to teach you how to use your brain to work for you in closing the gateway to pain, rather than against you.
My Specialties Are
There are many different forms of chronic pain. I specialize in helping people navigate the following forms of chronic pain:
Post-surgical recovery, especially orthopedic procedures
Injuries
Migraines
Arthritis
Fibromyalgia
Nerve damage
How Therapy Can Benefit You
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain is a skills-focused treatment that involves changing your perceptions of pain. Through this therapy, you will gain the following skills:
Relaxation training: learn how to calm your mind and body during stressful moments.
Cognitive restructuring: learn to recognize and challenge unhelpful, negative, or intrusive thoughts surrounding pain. Through this work we also emphasize recognizing strengths and focusing on what may be going well.
Activity pacing: we recognize the limitations of your body while working to engage in more activities. We take breaks and go at your pace, but emphasize gradually increasing what you are capable of doing.
Behavioral activation: a key element of treatment is changing your current patterns of responding to pain. To decrease feelings of depression or anxiety, we focus on engaging in activities to increase your energy level and experiences of joy.
What Therapy With Me Is Like
Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain does not erase pain, but clients often demonstrate experiencing:
Reduced symptoms of anxiety and overall stress
Feeling less controlled by pain
Increased energy and engagement in activities
Improved sleep
Increased sense of hope and fulfillment
Our goal with therapy is to bring back your sense of control over your daily life. We do this through changing how we think about pain and in how we respond to pain. I am sensitive to and mindful of how challenging and exhausting it can be to overcome what our body’s instincts to do are. We therefore proceed at your pace and I work to maintain motivation and increase your sense of hope and confidence as we proceed.
About Kathryn
I am a chronic pain therapist who practices what she preaches. I have a family history of joint conditions and began experiencing issues with my hip and back five years ago, leading to difficulties with mobility. I understand how easy it is to slip into feeling hopeless and the stress that accompanies ongoing, daily pain. My goal as a therapist is to validate my client’s experiences with pain and to focus on increasing their self-sufficiency and confidence while lowering their stress and impressions of pain.
While I did not specialize in treating chronic pain in graduate school, my own experiences have driven me to want to support others living with chronic pain. Therapy with me is a combination of validation and motivation. I am aware of how hard it can be to keep going when you are in pain, and I also believe that you can learn skills that will allow you to use your brain to work for you rather than against you in order to help you manage your pain, leading to more independence and self-confidence.
Are you ready to gain control over your pain? I offer free 15 minute consultation phone calls to discuss your needs and provide clarity about the treatment so that you can determine if we would be a good fit to work together.