Mindful Chronic Pain Management

“This experience helped me trust that I can actually do things to make myself feel good.”

Coping with chronic pain can be debilitating and research shows that marginalized people in pain are often dismissed by doctors and family members.

A Mind Body Approach to Chronic Pain Management

Diagnosis of a chronic condition can be traumatic, seeking a diagnosis can be equally (and sometimes more) disempowering and crazy making.

Powerful feelings of helplessness, pain during sex or movement, or finding a new way to live a meaningful life when your body hurts can be exhausting.

Even with a good team of doctors, struggling with identity and shame is often the norm when it comes to chronic pain, especially with conditions that impact women and trans* people.

It can feel like an enormous responsibility to accomplish daily life tasks while managing pain. It’s easy to forget about pleasure and to feel unfulfilled in life and relationships.

Therapy can help you:

  • Find new ways to manage pain using easy-to-learn evidence-based and scientifically proven techniques.

  • Proactively prevent the anxiety and depression that often come with chronic pain and illness using some of the most researched tools in current wellness literature.

  • Communicate your needs in intimate relationships with partners, friends, family, and doctors.

  • Advocate for yourself at work and in school. Knowing that you have community support when it comes to getting the accommodations you need to achieve your goals.

  • Find ways to move in your body that feel good and don’t cause you pain.

  • Discover ways of eating and caring for yourself intuitively and build and maintain motivation to engage in the activities that bring you joy and give you energy.

  • Feel confident engaging in shared decision-making with doctors and find access to the resources you need to make decisions about your health care that are right for your body and life.

  • Track symptoms and advocate for yourself with doctors.

  • Find a team of supportive friends, committees, and professionals.

Therapy For Vulvodynia, Lichen Sclerosis, Vulvar Disease, Endometriosis & Painful Sex:

So many people find our practice after years of struggling with sex or pain that’s localized to the genital are. Lichen sclerosis, lichen plants, vulvodynia and pelvic floor discomfort can have long term emotional impacts on your relationships and your sense of self.

Even sex positive communities can sometimes feel unsafe if part of your struggles around sex or your body are about setting limits, saying no, or normalizing discomfort, disgust and a lack of pleasure around your penis, vulva or vagina. Pursuing medical care and experiencing gaslighting or coercion can often leave people with pain that impacts their ability to fully listen to their bodies.

If you or someone you love is trying to navigate this, you deserve a therapist that can fully understand and support you and provide you with trustworthy referrals and encouragement while you find your way to the medical care you need.

 

Recommended to Treat:

What Happens Next

If you’re interested in joining my weekly therapy group and cultivating a community to support you in meeting your goals related to managing chronic pain (and the stress it causes) in a more empowered way, we currently meet every Wednesday night. The next step is to schedule a free consultation call with me.