Specialties
Chronic pain
Living with pain that does not go away wears you down far more than the pain itself: it affects your rest, your mood, your relationships and the idea you hold of your own life. Psychological support never replaces medical treatment, nor does it set out to show that the pain is "in your head". It works on the impact that pain has on your daily life and on the resources you have to face it.
Where psychology fits in
Chronic pain is a health condition that requires medical follow-up. Diagnosis, tests and pain treatment are the responsibility of medical professionals, and psychological therapy neither replaces nor interferes with them: it is support that is added alongside.
What psychology does work on is everything the pain brings with it: the emotional distress it generates, anticipatory anxiety before a flare-up, the exhaustion of carrying it for years, the frustration when those around you do not understand it, and the avoidance behaviours that, in seeking to protect you, end up shrinking your life more than necessary.
The wear and tear nobody sees
Persistent pain rarely stays purely physical. Sleep disturbance, irritability, sustained low mood, or the sense of having lost control over your own plans are all common. So is the exhaustion of having to constantly explain and justify something that is invisible from the outside.
There is also the effect on relationships: social life narrows, guilt appears over what you can no longer keep up with, and sometimes isolation follows. This set of consequences is squarely within the scope of psychological work, and addressing it can meaningfully change how you experience your day to day.
When might it be time to seek help?
- When pain has been shaping your mood, your rest or your relationships for some time.
- If you have gradually stopped doing things for fear it will appear or worsen, beyond what your doctor advised.
- When uncertainty or anticipation of the next flare-up takes up much of your day.
- If you feel those around you do not quite understand what is happening to you, and that is isolating you.
- When living with pain has led you to sustained emotional exhaustion.
How we work on chronic pain in therapy
- We start from your actual situation and the medical treatment you already follow, without questioning or replacing it.
- We work on the emotional impact of pain and on the patterns of avoidance or over-exertion that tend to appear when trying to live with it.
- The aim is not to promise the pain will disappear — that is not psychology's remit — but to widen the margin of life the pain leaves you.
Frequently asked questions about chronic pain
Will psychological therapy take my pain away?
That is not what it offers, nor what it can promise. Pain treatment is the responsibility of medical professionals. Psychological work addresses the emotional impact of pain and how you cope with it day to day.
Does seeing a psychologist mean my pain is not real?
Not at all. Attending therapy does not call your pain or its physical origin into question. The work concerns the emotional wear of living with it, which occurs regardless of the medical cause.
Do I have to stop my medical treatment?
No. Psychological support is complementary and never replaces your doctor's judgement. Any decision about your treatment rests exclusively with the healthcare professionals treating you.
Can this be done online?
Yes. The online format keeps the same professional structure, and it is often especially practical when travelling is costly because of the pain itself.
Want to work on chronic pain?
Write to me and let's talk, with no obligation, about your specific situation.