“Persistent pain changes a life. With the right support, you can shape what comes next.”

— Pain psychology at Conscious Shift

Why therapy

 

PERSISTENT PAIN

Pain lives in the body and the brain

Persistent pain lasts longer than three months, often well past the point where tissue has healed. Over time the nervous system can become more protective, so pain grows louder even when nothing new is wrong. Stress and poor sleep both feed that system, which is why psychology belongs in a good pain plan.

I came to psychology partly through my own experience of persisting pain. Sessions draw on ACT, CBT, pain science and somatic work to help you understand your pain and build a life with room for more than it. In person in Adelaide, or by secure telehealth across Australia and overseas.

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Pain in Australia

Far from alone

Psychological care is a recognised part of treating persistent pain, alongside medical care and physiotherapy.

3.4M

Australians were living with chronic pain in 2020

1 in 5

Australians aged 45 and over live with chronic pain

45%

of people with chronic pain also live with depression or anxiety

1 in 7

Australian women in their late 40s have been diagnosed with endometriosis

Figures from Painaustralia (The Cost of Pain in Australia, 2019) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Chronic Pain in Australia, 2020). Endometriosis figure from the University of Queensland’s Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.

Chronic pain psychology, Adelaide & online

  • Modern pain science, including the research of Professor Lorimer Moseley at the University of South Australia, shows that pain is the brain’s way of protecting you. It draws on everything your body and brain know about danger, so pain is always real, and the system producing it can change. Learning how your own pain works is often where our work begins.

  • Sessions draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), pain education and somatic work. Together we look at pacing, flare-up plans, sleep and the fear of movement that often follows an injury. The goal is a fuller life, with pain taking up less of it.

  • The same approaches help with chronic illness, including autoimmune conditions, long COVID, chronic fatigue, diabetes and gut conditions. Living with an illness often brings grief and a lot of uncertainty. Therapy gives you somewhere to work through both, alongside your medical care.

  • Acceptance means making room for pain so it no longer runs every decision, while you keep working towards change. We also work on feeling safe in your body again, and on noticing comfort and pleasure, which pain can crowd out for years. Small, repeated experiences of safety help a protective nervous system settle.

  • Telehealth suits pain well. There is no travel on a bad day and no waiting room, and you can join lying down with a heat pack if that helps. Studies of psychology by video for persistent pain show results similar to in-person care. Sessions run across Australia and internationally.

  • Medicare rebates are available with a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP. NDIS participants can use their plan funding. For work injuries in South Australia, sessions can be funded through ReturnToWorkSA, and employers can refer staff directly and cover the cost of sessions. Private health rebates depend on your fund.

  • With your consent, I can work alongside your GP and the rest of your health team, such as a pain specialist or physiotherapist, so your care fits together. GPs and employers are welcome to refer directly. Multi disiplinary care can also include other allied health supports, such as nutritionists, dietricians, naturopaths, acupuncturists, remedial massage therapists, and more.

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