Photo of Jen Johnson, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in 27617, NC
Jen Johnson
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, MS, MFA, CRC, BCC, LCMHC
Verified Verified
2 Endorsed
Raleigh, NC 27617  (Online Only)
My areas of specialty include stress, grief, loss, transitions, anxiety, chronic illness, perfectionism, self-criticism, creativity, gifted adults, and medical trauma.
Are stress and ruminating thoughts about the past or future keeping you up at night? Do you wake up feeling anxious and worried? Are you struggling with stress related illness, such as autoimmune illness or high blood pressure? Have you lost your sense of aliveness, meaning, and purpose? I offer life coaching and counseling services to adults. I teach people how to develop inner peace, calm, and resilience so that you cope with the difficult times more skillfully and savor life's joy, beauty, and awe more fully.
My areas of specialty include stress, grief, loss, transitions, anxiety, chronic illness, perfectionism, self-criticism, creativity, gifted adults, and medical trauma.
Are stress and ruminating thoughts about the past or future keeping you up at night? Do you wake up feeling anxious and worried? Are you struggling with stress related illness, such as autoimmune illness or high blood pressure? Have you lost your sense of aliveness, meaning, and purpose? I offer life coaching and counseling services to adults. I teach people how to develop inner peace, calm, and resilience so that you cope with the difficult times more skillfully and savor life's joy, beauty, and awe more fully.
(910) 653-1690 View (910) 653-1690
Photo of Graciela Aires Rust, Licensed Professional Counselor in 27617, NC
Graciela Aires Rust
Licensed Professional Counselor, PhD, MS, LCMHC, CRC, IWLC
Verified Verified
Raleigh, NC 27617
An individual's mental, physical, social, emotional and spiritual dimensions are deeply intertwined. Consequently, and considering a person's multiple dimensions, I provide a holistic approach to mental health and well-being that enables me to see an individual as a complete being, which allows helping each client to achieve comprehensive results. I offer a warm, confidential and empathetic style of individual, family and group counseling providing modern and evidence-based practices of psychotherapy, as well as ancient healing modalities such as meditation and energy healing.
An individual's mental, physical, social, emotional and spiritual dimensions are deeply intertwined. Consequently, and considering a person's multiple dimensions, I provide a holistic approach to mental health and well-being that enables me to see an individual as a complete being, which allows helping each client to achieve comprehensive results. I offer a warm, confidential and empathetic style of individual, family and group counseling providing modern and evidence-based practices of psychotherapy, as well as ancient healing modalities such as meditation and energy healing.
(808) 518-3741 View (808) 518-3741
Chronic Pain Therapists

How does chronic pain therapy work?

Engaging with a psychotherapist to help treat chronic pain does not mean that one’s pain is all in their head. Therapy for chronic-pain patients has been shown to benefit both the mind and the body, targeting physical symptoms and increasing daily functioning. In other words, for many, addressing their emotional health through therapy affects their physical health. A therapist can help a client challenge unhelpful thoughts about pain and develop new ways to respond to it, such as distraction or calming breathing techniques. Studies have found that therapy can be as effective as surgery for certain cases of chronic pain and many doctors recommend trying psychotherapy in advance of considering invasive surgery.

What are the most effective treatment options for chronic pain?

Stress, anxiety, depression, catastrophizing, ruminating, lack of activity, and social withdrawal all make chronic pain worse. Addressing these issues, research shows, can help people gain control over their pain symptoms. Therapeutic approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback, and mindfulness-based stress reduction, along with greater pain-management education, have been found to help people reduce fear and disability.

Are there new treatments for chronic pain?

Many cases of chronic pain, particularly those involving back pain, remain medically unexplained. But there is evidence that changes in the brain or nervous system are caused by previous physical ailments such as tissue damage; in such cases, the brain may continue to send out pain signals despite the physical cause having healed. To aid patients under these circumstances, a recently developed treatment known as pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) is designed to help the brain “unlearn” this response. A PRT practitioner helps individuals to reduce the “threat value” of their ongoing pain signals until they can reappraise them as less threatening and fear-inducing. They also help an individual to develop new emotional regulation skills.

How long does therapy for chronic pain take?

There is no set timeline for recovery from chronic pain, especially as there may be a range of physical and psychological causes for any individual’s discomfort, but most patients should expect to see a therapist for a number of weeks or months, typically spanning at least 12 sessions. Studies of pain reprocessing therapy found that many individuals’ experience of pain lessened in eight sessions over four weeks.