Frequently Asked Questions
What is your role as a pain coach?
As a pain coach, my role is to listen, assess, educate, support and empower my clients. I listen to your pain story– both physical and emotional pain – and then assess whether or not your symptoms may be helped by this work. I want to hear your fears, hopes, and goals so that I can tailor our sessions to you as an individual.
I provide pain education both at the beginning but also throughout every session to make sure you fully understand your “flavor” of neuroplastic pain and how + why PRT and EAET works. The more you understand, the better your brain will respond to the work.
Lastly, I support you every step of the way by walking you through the tools and techniques of PRT, finding modifications and/or changing focus as needed.
I’ve already spent so much money! Is this really worth it?
I understand – I have been there, too! I can tell you that for myself and many more, PRT was the final stop in our journey to freedom from chronic symptoms.
PRT coaching is an investment in deeply learning tools that can serve you for the rest of your life and can be applied to just about any pain/discomfort that will inevitably come your way.
Do I need to see a doctor before starting this work?
Yes, it is important to have your chronic symptoms checked out medically to ensure that you receive the proper treatment for your condition. Your safety is always the top priority. A coach such as myself cannot diagnose or assess for structural/physical conditions. While PRT can be used for any kind of symptom/pain, no matter the diagnosis, PRT is not a cure or treatment for structural conditions.
I do not provide any form of Medical or Mental Health advice or treatment.
My website and coaching services do not constitute any attempt to practice medicine.
What can I expect in a coaching session?
First we’ll meet for a longer intake session where I hear your story, assess for neuroplastic components, and determine the next right step.
As we move forward with sessions, we will cover pain education points, exploring the role of pain. We’ll begin asking: why is the brain giving you this danger signal? And how it can be modified / turned off / reset?
While each session, you can expect that we will practice a variety of tools based on your individual needs and readiness: safety reappraisal, EAET, somatic tracking, parts work, and more.
How frequently should I meet with a pain coach?
Every coach will have their own recommendation. For me, I typically recommend meeting once a week for the first few months. It’s helpful to have consistent reinforcement of new concepts and help with somatic tracking, questions, doubts, fears at the beginning.
Once the concepts feel more natural and the client has gained more trust in the process, it’s good to leave a little more space between sessions for the client to practice on their own but still come back to celebrate what’s working, help problem-solve what’s not, and get reassurance that they are on the right track.
You are the expert on your mind and body, and when we discuss the cadence of how often we will meet, I will always defer to your wisdom.
How long will it take for me to notice results?
As you might expect, it depends! For some, symptoms can switch off quickly! In the Boulder Back Pain study, participants had great results after 8 intensive sessions. That said, the process is simple in theory but not always easy. Exiting the self-perpetuating Pain-Fear Cycle and creating new neuropathways can take time, and it is never a straight line to recovery.
In my experience, clients tend to first notice an improvement in pain-related anxiety, then an improvement in quality of life, followed by lasting decreases in pain/symptoms. The benefits tend to compound exponentially over time as one learns to trust the process.
Focusing on our relationship to the symptoms has more impact than what we are doing for our symptoms (in trying to fix them).
Does a PRT coach replace my psychotherapist?
A PRT coach like myself does not replace your psychotherapist, as the scope of practice and expertise are different. A coach can still support you as you work through the emotional aspects that impact pain, but if the emotions are high or if there is significant trauma, I will always recommend working with a therapist I you aren’t already.
It is common for folks to work with both a pain coach and a therapist at the same time. In addition, you can find some therapists who are trained in PRT!
I do not provide any form of Medical or Mental Health advice or treatment.