Chronic Physical Pain
Chronic Physical Pain
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You might have been dealing with vague or stubborn pain symptoms for months or even years. Perhaps doctors and physical therapists do not find a truly satisfying cause. Maybe you are trying to manage your headaches, back-, neck-, or other pain with exercises and medication while still hoping for true relief ...
I help people who are dealing with persistent physical pain, especially those who have explored various avenues for healing without success. By addressing the deeper unconscious drivers of the pain we loosen up its structure and take away the deeper reasons for it to manifest.
I invite you to inquire; when did your symptoms start? Were you experiencing any hardship, uncertainty, loss, or frustration? Were you responsible for something difficult? Do you often need to 'function' instead of feel or 'be nice and helpful to others' without being supported yourself?
Working with many people has shown that pain syndromes often stem from a 'reflex' to suppress emotions, be overly accommodating to others, and to diminish a full self-expression. My approach involves assisting people in somatically processing the themes and emotions held within the body, leading directly to the waning of the pain sensations themselves.
"The main driver for healing pain is to understand the process deeper.
"The main driver for healing pain is to understand the process deeper.
Knowledge of its emotional source is essential and almost invariably leads to a “cure."
Knowledge of its emotional source is essential and almost invariably leads to a “cure."
- Dr. Sarno
- Dr. Sarno
I help people who are experiencing...
I help people who are experiencing...
Back and neck pain
Back and neck pain
Headaches and migraines
Headaches and migraines
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
Pain that 'travels' through the body and changes location.
Pain that 'travels' through the body and changes location.
What is stress-induced chronic pain or TMS?
What is stress-induced chronic pain or TMS?
The definition of chronic pain is any pain lasting longer than 3 months. Approximately 85 percent of back pain, 78 percent of headaches don’t have a clear medical cause. Not all pain is caused by pure physical conditions, injuries or structural issues. And even when there are physical injuries, they sometimes do not account fully for the duration, fluctuations, or intensity of the pain that is experienced. Many pain syndromes are closely linked with emotional friction, trauma, or stress. And this is good news, because it allows for a whole new way to heal when we are ready to explore ourselves at a new depth.
In the early 1990s, Dr. John Sarno MD, a mind-body pioneer and author of The Mindbody Prescription, explained that “these common pain syndromes are Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) .. a harmless but potentially very painful disorder that is the result of specific, common emotional situations.”
Today, we know a lot more about TMS, which is now known by many terms including PPD or Psychophysiologic Disorders, Mind-Body Syndrome and Neuroplastic Pain.
" Once the patient becomes aware of their mind's strategy to divert attention away from emotions [away from vulnerability] and onto their pain, their physical symptoms usually disappear."
- Dr. Sarno
... maybe you can't find the root cause of the pain...
... maybe you can't find the root cause of the pain...
Many of my clients have tried everything to solve their chronic pain problem but just can't get to the bottom of it.
Some of my clients have already tried:
Medication
Surgery
Physical exercises and training
Massages
Various healing techniques
Dietary plans
Supplements
Yoga and meditation
They've often experienced:
Being gaslighted by medical professionals.
Being misunderstood by loved ones.
Feeling powerless and fearful about their symptom.
Being compulsively focussed on their symptom.
Feeling depressed or like giving up.
My approach is to go to the depth with you
My approach is to go to the depth with you
My perspective is that 'mysterious' chronic pain is an innocent coping strategy that falls away through somatic processing. What does this mean?
When you have lived through tough situations, but haven't had the chance to be heard, seen, expressed, loved, and supported the body learns to adopt a survival strategy that chooses safety over authenticity. The natural emotional flow freezes up to express only that which is 'safe and functional' instead of true and authentic and converts the energy into something more 'acceptable', like physical pain. Sometimes even for years or decades, making it SEEM like something that will never change. But it can change. The natural circulation is restored with conscious attention and inner permission.
By employing the different somatic modalities we invite the body to process all feelings on a deeper level and embody the freedom of authentic expression. In-depth inquiries and exercises will help you reverse this painful coping mechanism and gently show you from the inside out that you CAN experience and express all of yourself. When the pain-mechanism is inwardly seen through it usually relaxes or stops completely, which either softens or dissolves the pain entirely.
"The body keeps the score."
- Bessel van der Kolk
What does a session look like?
What does a session look like?
Orientation:
We start by looking at your current situation, how you feel, and what is at play in your life.
Depth work:
Then we take 40-50 minutes to go in-depth and address the deeper layers. We might use 1 or 2 of the modalities to facilitate this process, depending on what serves you most.
This is the part where energetics might feel quite strong. It is temporary and will subside.
Integration:
Afterwards we offer the body and mind an integration moment. This can look like mindful silence or sharing your experience.
We take a moment for questions.
There might be suggestions or exercises for at-home.
Work with me
Work with me
Since this work usually deepens over the course of 4 to 5 sessions I encourage a package of 5 sessions. This allows for your system to work through the layers it needs to and have the time to reorient and integrate all the changes.
There are 2 ways you can choose a free entry into this work:
The first session always starts with a free 20-minute intake after which you'll have the possibility to immediately continue into a full session if you wanted to.
Or a 20-minute separate clarity session to help you decide which path for healing would serve you most. I gladly refer you to other practitioners and healers if that's what your situation calls for.
Some Client Results
Some Client Results
" I contacted Barbara because I had tried many treatments and nothing worked. I really liked the way she approached my problem because she did not try to solve it physically but looked for the underlying cause. I learned a lot and gained awareness about my thoughts and behavior. I no longer suffer from pain, which is such a huge relief. " - Sally J.
"Really powerful work!" - Michael K.
"I found it very pleasant and it has already helped a lot with the discomforts I had. I'm extremely grateful." - Macy van E.
"Barbara helped me a lot! My persistent headache dissolved. More importantly; she put me in touch with my deeper feelings. This was only possible because I felt so comfortable and, above all, safe with her." - Marie van V.
"After years of recurring back pain and considering surgery I was very surprised that the pain left by exploring my inner world with Barbara." - K. J.
"Illness is not an arbitrary event that happens to us, but is orchestrated at some level of the psyche, to serve as a lesson, to wake us up to certain facts or reality within ourselves."
"Illness is not an arbitrary event that happens to us, but is orchestrated at some level of the psyche, to serve as a lesson, to wake us up to certain facts or reality within ourselves."
- Gabor Maté
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