After reviewing the information on the last few pages, you might have come to the conclusion that mind/body links could play a role in your symptoms. That’s a great first step! Now, what can you do to help yourself feel better?
Self-help
Many patients find it helpful to learn more about mind/body connections. Sometimes, just recognizing how and why chronic pain develops can make the symptoms a lot better! Here are some ways to learn more about the origins of chronic pain and other symptoms that are related to mind/body problems:
- Videos by Dr. Howard Schubiner (mind/body expert)
https://unlearnyourpain.com/lecture-series-mind-body-syndrome-tension-myoneural/ - “The Reign of Pain” – a free Coursera course (choose the “audit” option) that reviews the basics of mind/body connections and how symptoms are generated.
- Books by Dr. John Sarno (affordable copies can be found online at bookfinder.com)
- “Mind Over Back Pain: A Radically New Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Back Pain” — please note that this approach can be used for all kinds of pain, not just back pain!
- “Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection”
- “The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain”
Guided home treatment programs
Others may find it helpful to enroll in a formal program that helps get to the heart of chronic pain. Here are a few suggestions:
- https://freedomfromchronicpain.com/
- Offers a money-back guarantee if it is not effective for you!
- Offers a money-back guarantee if it is not effective for you!
- https://www.yourbreakawake.com/
- Offers peer support for people pursuing mind/body treatment
- Offers peer support for people pursuing mind/body treatment
- https://www.curablehealth.com/
- An app that helps patients understand and improve their physical symptoms using mind/body methods
- An app that helps patients understand and improve their physical symptoms using mind/body methods
- https://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/TMS_Recovery_Program
- A free self-guided program to treat TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome,another name for mind/body symptoms)
Individual therapy
If you feel that individual therapy would be the best fit for you, there are several options to choose from. Most therapists who effectively treat chronic pain based on mind/body links use one of several scientifically-proven methods, such as Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), or Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP).
Group therapy options
More to come!
Indivivdual psychotherapy and coaching options
- https://www.painpsychotherapy.ca/our-team
A virtual Canadian psychotherapy clinic that specializes in mind/body treatment of chronic pain and other conditions. - Dynamic Psychotherapy and Psychology Centre
Offers psychotherapy for chronic pain and other bodily symptoms in-person in Kingston and virtually elsewhere in Ontario - Dr. Melissa Tiessen
A psychologist in private practice in Ontario offering psychotherapy for chronic pain. - Kent Bassett Coaching
Kent provides peer coaching for people living with mind/body syndromes. As someone who recovered from chronic pain using these techniques, his lived experience can be particularly helpful.
In person psychotherapy: Toronto
Dr. Ed Weiss is offering short-term psychotherapy in the west end of Toronto for patients with chronic pain and other unexplained symptoms who are interested in exploring mind/body links. He is trained in EAET and has received ISTDP supervision from Dr. Ange Cooper, a Canadian expert on using emotion-based therapy for chronic symptoms, and Johannes Kieding, an American expert in ISTDP-derived therapies. Services are covered by OHIP and are at no cost to the patient.