Chronic Pain Blog

I recently had the pleasure of joining The Chronic Illness Therapist's Podcast - you can listen here: https://anchor.fm/citherapist "Ep 16: Desperate for a Chronic Pain Cure w/ Lucy Dunning" In this episode, we talk: The desperation that happens when we just want a cure Chasing cures online Acceptance is not rainbows and sunshines, and why we work on acceptance The grief cycle: denial, anger, Virtual reality Animal-assisted therapy Parenting with chronic pain

"Virtual Reality Therapy: Everything You Need To Know" Lucy was recently interviewed for this Forbes Health article!"Lucy Dunning, a licensed professional counselor in Marietta, Georgia, who uses VRET in her counseling practice, says because the concept is relatively new, the data is still emerging in terms of how successful it is long-term. But early research points to promising results. “It has especially been shown to be successful for people with PTSD, anxiety and chronic pain,” she says."

Virtual Group for Parents with Chronic Pain Having Chronic Pain is difficult no matter what stage of life you are in. Parenting in Chronic Pain is an area that Lucy has found difficult to find resources in through her own journey as a chronic pain patient and mother of 3 children. Lucy has created this Parenting in Pain Coaching Group by taking tools from Child Parent Interaction Therapy, skill sets for coping with chronic pain, goal setting and motivational interviewing for chronic pain, psychoeducation on chronic pain - all to help offer parents who have chronic pain and children a resource. . By using a variety of therapeutic skills and modalities, Parents who have chronic pain will gain: the tools and insight of finding a balance of pain pacing while parentin new ideas of interacting with your children based on age that are effective and meaningful explaining chronic pain/illness to children and answering their questions understanding how children process when a parent is sick...

Single Session Pain Relief Class Virtual or In Person Lucy Dunning, Ed.S, LPC, LCMHCS is a certified Empowered Relief Provider and is trained to provide this researched-based pain relief program. This program is endorsed by Stanford University and is NIH-funded. The program has been scientifically proven to help clients with chronic pain to reduce pain intensity, decrease pain-related distress, improve quality of life and increase sleep. As a chronic pain patient herself, Lucy has personally found a lot of value in this program from a patient perspective. This class can be offered in-person or virtually and is available in the states of NC, SC, and Georgia. In-person is only available in Georgia. The Empowered Relief Program is largely based on CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and guided relaxation. The entire program takes 2 hours to complete with tools to take home to continue to develop coping skills for pain responses. Participants who participate in the program develop an...

Blue Sky Family Counseling and Coaching is now offering Animal Assisted Therapy! Three-year-old Delilah is a golden doodle who has specifically been trained to help serve others and has worked with hospice patients. Delilah has a sense of when an individual or child is hurting both physically and emotionally. Animal Assisted therapy can assist in many ways for individuals experiencing chronic pain.  There have been many research studies supporting the idea that Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to help individuals experiencing many medical conditions including but not limited to neuropathy, fibromyalgia, anxiety, and depression. For most individuals, animals help provide a sense of comfort and ultimately can help reduce an individual’s pain by releasing certain “feel good” hormones such as oxytocin, reduce stress responses to pain, uplifting mood, and provide comfort when an individual is in distress.

Virtual reality (VR) refers to a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional environment using electronic devices, such as special goggles with a screen or gloves fitted with sensors. Virtual Reality captures the mind’s attention and blocks pain signals from reaching the brain. It provides tactile and sensory feedback and allows the patient to rally the neurotransmitter mechanisms that decrease pain. What can it do for Chronic Pain? VR can be a great tool to calm down a pain flare up. Watching something relaxing will take your brain off the pain signals. VR can help with anxiety related to pain or medical procedures. VR can help with medical PTSD by exposure therapy in a safe setting. For example: fear of needles. VR can help patients who have a hard time with mindfulness practice these skills in an immersive environment. VR can walk patients through guided imagery and deep breathing. VR can increase cognitive functioning by...

When I provide support or therapy groups on chronic pain one of the most common questions I hear is, “How do you best treat clients experiencing chronic pain?”  Pain warriors living with chronic conditions want to know if there is a best modality for treatment. Treatment modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy have been shown to help many individuals experiencing chronic pain.  I use these and other modalities in treatment including art therapy and traditional talk therapy.  However, I would propose that more important than choosing a modality is first figuring out which stage of the grief cycle the chronic pain client is in. Chronic pain/illness engenders its own kind of grief cycle.  Those living with chronic pain experience feelings of denial, shock, anger and depression along with many other emotions.  If you are living with chronic pain you may at first find yourself denying that the problem exists.  You may later become angry that...

“The child who is diagnosed with a serious and chronic medical illness is at greater risk for developing emotional problems. Unlike a child who has a temporary medical condition such as the flu, the child with a chronic illness must cope with knowing that the disease is permanent, incurable and may even get worse with time” - American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Having chronic pain or illness is challenging at any age; however, kids experience unique challenges as a result of dealing with chronic pain and illness. They struggle to understand why they are dealing with illness and may believe it their fault. They may resist parents who try to overly protect or pamper them and they may hide their sickness from peers worrying that they will be misunderstood or made fun of. Children and adolescents with chronic pain and illness face the simultaneous and potentially overwhelming tasks of navigating the stages of development while managing chronic issues and all that comes...

Ever been in a minor car wreck, burned or cut yourself while cooking or accidentally injured yourself while doing yard work? If you have ever experienced minor traumas such as these you know that the experience and memories of it can conjure powerful emotions and physical sensations even long after the incident has transpired. Trauma can be minor or major. Some major types of trauma include surviving emotional, physical or sexual abuse or living through a natural disaster such as a fire, flood or hurricane. However, there is another type of trauma only being talked about in more recent years and that is trauma related to chronic pain, chronic illness and medical interventions. When I was a child, I hated getting vaccines. I grew up in a small town and my mother tells me that every time we drove past the red brick doctor’s office building I would burst into tears. I associated the building with pain. Now as a therapist I know that seeing that office was a “trigger” for me. It reminded...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT) is a type of therapy used in the treatment of chronic pain. CBT works by training your brain over time to  change negative statements into positive ones.  It involves “catching” negative thoughts before they consume us or negatively impact our feelings, moods and actions.  CBT is a way to calm ourselves when we start to feel a flare up or are having a bad pain day.   Applying CBT to Chronic Pain takes practice and patience and is not for everyone.  If it is helpful for you, CBT can be another tool in your tool box to help cope with pain.  For example, CBT helps you learn how to identify and address “automatic thoughts.”  If you start feeling pain, some  immediate automatic thoughts that might come to mind include: this will never end, I will never feel better, I am going to have to go to the hospital, or this will only get worse.  It is easy for our brains to ignite such thoughts when we feel bad.  This is where CBT can help us learn how to catch...