Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)

You’ve done the doctor visits, scans, and treatments — yet the pain is still there. Whether your pain began without any clear injury or started with an injury that has long since healed, your experience is real — and you’re not alone. Many people continue to feel pain even when their bodies are structurally healthy. In these cases, the brain’s protective system is misfiring pain signals — its danger alarm stays switched on, often in response to stress, fear, or emotional tension rather than physical harm. This is known as neuroplastic pain, and the encouraging news is that although the pain is very real, it is also highly changeable.

Through Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), I help you understand your symptoms, calm your nervous system, and retrain your brain’s pain pathways. Techniques like somatic tracking, mindfulness, and emotional processing help rewire the brain, break the pain–fear cycle, and reduce sensitivity to pain over time. Together, we use these evidence-based tools to reduce fear, build safety, and support lasting relief.

Many people come in with questions about their symptoms and how this work helps — you’re welcome to explore more below and on my FAQ page:

  • Pain Reprocessing Therapy focuses on neuroplastic pain — real pain that is generated by the brain rather than caused by ongoing tissue damage.

    While every person’s experience is unique, some common indicators include:

    • Pain that moves or changes location

    • Symptoms that increase during stress or emotional strain

    • Medical tests that show little or no structural cause

    • Pain that began during or after a stressful life period

    • Symptoms that fluctuate day to day

    • Pain that worsens with fear, attention, or worry

    • Symptoms that improve when you feel calm, safe, or distracted

    • Lingering pain after an injury has healed

    The hopeful part is that the brain is capable of learning safety again, and these pathways can change.

  • Chronic pain affects over a billion people worldwide, and many cases are not caused by ongoing structural injury.

    Modern neuroscience shows that the brain can misinterpret safe signals from the body as dangerous. When this happens, the brain produces real pain as a protective response — even when the body is structurally safe.

    Pain is meant to function as an alarm system. But sometimes that alarm becomes overactive.

    Neuroplastic pain can show up as:

    • Back pain, neck pain, knee pain, etc.

    • Fibromyalgia

    • Tension & migraine headaches

    • CRPS

    • Repetitive strain injuries

    • Pelvic pain

    • Jaw pain

    • Vertigo

    • Whiplash

    • Osteoarthritis

    • Irritable bowel syndrome 

    • Long COVID

    • Chronic fatigue syndrome

    • …and other chronic symptoms

    The pain is real — but it is being generated by learned neural pathways rather than tissue damage.

    The hopeful part: the brain can learn safety again.

  • Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is an evidence-based approach designed to retrain the brain’s interpretation of pain signals.

    Rather than focusing on managing symptoms alone, PRT works at the level where chronic pain is being maintained — the nervous system and brain.

    In our work together, we may use tools such as:

    • Somatic Tracking — noticing sensations with curiosity instead of fear

    • Cognitive Reframing — shifting the brain’s danger interpretations

    • Safety Signaling — reinforcing cues of physical safety

    • Emotional awareness — processing underlying stress patterns

    • Gradual exposure — rebuilding trust with movement and activity

    This approach helps interrupt the pain-fear cycle and supports long-term relief.

  • Yes.

    Pain Reprocessing Therapy is designed to treat neuroplastic pain, but it can also be helpful for people who have both structural conditions and a mind-body component to their symptoms.

    In situations where a medical condition exists — such as arthritis, MS, injury history, or post-surgical pain — PRT does not replace medical care.

    Instead, it helps reduce the additional distress created by:

    • Fear of pain

    • Nervous system overactivation

    • Muscle tension

    • Hypervigilance

    • The brain’s amplified danger response

    Many people with “mixed pain” experience meaningful relief when the nervous system learns that it is safe again.

    PRT can be used alongside medical treatment.

  • Healing timelines vary for each person, but research offers helpful guidance.

    A randomized controlled trial published in JAMA Psychiatry found:

    • 98% of participants improved with PRT

    • 66% were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment

    • Most improvements remained one year later

    Many clients begin noticing meaningful shifts within 8–12 sessions, though progress depends on factors such as nervous system sensitivity, fear patterns, and life stressors.

    This work is collaborative and paced to feel supportive — not rushed.

  • Coaching sessions are individualized and designed to support you to:

    • Learn about neuroplastic pain and recovery

    • Gather and reinforce personalized evidence that your pain is neuroplastic

    • Learn and practice tools for responding differently to pain

    • Increase nervous system regulation

    • Address pain triggers, including emotional and social/environmental threats

    • Identify and implement tools for self-care

    • Reintroduce and begin new activities to live life the way you envision

    • Create a relapse prevention plan

If you’re curious whether this approach could help, please book a complimentary 15-minute connect call. I cannot wait to hear from you.

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