Pain Reprocessing Therapy
If you’re here, you may have heard that your symptoms are “all in your head” or that nothing is wrong because testing hasn’t uncovered a clear explanation. Or maybe there is an explanation—like a bulging disc—but your symptoms haven’t improved meaningfully with any treatments you’ve tried.
This experience can feel incredibly invalidating. The question is not whether your symptoms are real. They are. And I’m sorry you have them.
The question is also not whether you’re doing the recommended treatments “right” to achieve relief.
The questions we need to be asking are:
What processes in your body are contributing to your symptoms?
Are there are new ways to address those processes?
What does the mind-body connection have to do with chronic symptoms?
Pain and other physical sensations are produced by the nervous system, which is designed to protect us. Sometimes, after an injury, illness, or prolonged period of stress, the nervous system can remain in a heightened protective state even after the original danger has passed.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps people understand these processes and retrain the nervous system’s response to symptoms. PRT does not suggest that symptoms are imagined, exaggerated, or your fault. Instead, it draws on current pain science showing that the brain and nervous system play an important role in how physical sensations are generated and maintained.
For some people with chronic symptoms, this shift in understanding can open a door to meaningful improvement—a door that previously seemed glued shut, leaving them feeling thwarted, exhausted, and defeated.
What is PRT actually like?
I came to PRT not because I was looking for a simple explanation for complex symptoms, but because I understand personally how exhausting it can be to live in a body that feels unpredictable and uncontrollable. My own experience with chronic symptoms shaped my interest in this work and my desire to help others find a path forward.
In our work together, we will…
Learn how pain works
Explore the science of chronic symptoms and look at your own symptom history to understand whether PRT may be the right treatment for your symptoms
Change your relationship with symptoms
Practice responding to sensations in new ways that reduce the nervous system’s threat detection and the fear responses that reinforce nervous system activation
Explore the connection between emotions and physical sensations
Look at how emotions, stress, and nervous system responses interact with your physical symptoms—because the mind and body are not separate systems, and what happens in one domain can set the stage for pain or comfort in another
Is PRT right for you?
PRT is designed for chronic symptoms where nervous system activation may be contributing to ongoing symptoms—whether they began after an injury or illness, have been attributed to a finding on a scan, or the original cause has remained unclear.
It’s often helpful for people experiencing symptoms like:
Fibromyalgia
Migraine or tension headaches
Persistent pain after an injury has healed
Back, neck, or joint pain
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Chronic fatigue
PRT is not a replacement for medical care, and not every chronic symptom has the same cause. Part of our work together is determining whether this approach fits your specific situation, so if you’re not sure, don’t worry. PRT begins with a collaborative assessment intended to help you get clarity on whether this treatment is appropriate for you.
Even when symptoms do have a clear medical cause, learning how the nervous system responds to stress, threat, and physical sensations can still be valuable in reducing suffering and improving quality of life.
A life beyond symptom management
Living with chronic symptoms can require an enormous amount of energy: tracking your body, making medical decisions, adjusting plans, and worrying about what this all means for your future and your dreams.
The goal of PRT is not simply to help you cope with a smaller life. It’s to help you understand what’s happening in your body and gradually weaken the nervous system processes that keep your symptoms going. The goal is to substantially reduce your symptoms—sometimes even reverse them—so you can reclaim ease in your body and freedom in your life.
Are we a good fit?
Therapy is most effective when the relationship between therapist and client is a good fit. If you're wondering whether we'd work well together, here's what you can expect from me—and what I ask of my clients.