Psychological therapy for chronic pain

Acute pain often goes away on its own or with treatment. Three to six months is considered the body’s normal tissue healing time. Acute pain is an important survival mechanism that tells us when we are in danger. For example, if I accidently pour boiling water on my hand, pain can help me realise I need to move my hand away very quickly to limit injury. Or, say If you feel pain in your foot, it is normal to want to sit down and stop what you are doing, right?

Chronic pain is very different. It persists far beyond normal tissue healing time. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain does not have an obvious purpose and it is not associated with damage. It can lead us to become overprotective of ourselves so we reduce movement and activity, just like we would for acute pain. However, recommended treatment may be very different for chronic pain.

When I discuss chronic pain with clients, I often use the metaphor as the nervous system being like an overprotective burglar alarm. A bit like a burglar alarm – it is designed to alert us to someone breaking in to a building, with pain being the alarm ringing. However, in chronic pain, the burglar alarm no longer just rings when someone breaks through the door or smashes windows, but when a cat walks by outside. It becomes overprotective.

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) states that chronic pain is more than just a physical experience, but an emotional one too – it can impact our mood, thoughts, relationships and general quality of life.

Often, people have tried many medical treatments for chronic pain which unfortunately - and frustratingly - may have little to no benefit. Psychology for chronic pain thinks about the impact of pain rather than pain itself. Pain psychology can help you handle the psychological and emotional impact of pain so that it troubles you less and doesn’t take over your life so much. The aim is to avoid being in a ‘battle’ and to consider how you may be able to live differently with pain.

Absolutely not. Seeing a psychologist does not mean the pain is all in your head. Chronic pain – and its impacts – are very real. Psychology can be helpful as we know that pain impacts so many areas of people’s lives.

In line with the most latest NICE (2021) guidance for chronic pain, I draw on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I also draw on Compassion Focused Therapy, which is another evidenced based therapy frequently used in the NHS.

Being trained in these different treatment approaches means I can draw on them to tailor therapy specifically to you and your goals. This will start by an initial comprehensive assessment to understand how pain affects different areas of your life. From here, we can agree on the best way to work together.