The Mind Body Approach
Find Freedom and Relief from Chronic Symptoms
What is the Mind-Body Approach?
The Mind Body Approach draws on current research in neuroscience to help people who deal with chronic symptoms. It has already helped countless people experience meaningful improvement—and in many cases, complete relief—from symptoms they’ve been struggling with for years.
This approach has the potential to provide significant relief from many chronic symptoms, including the following:
The Mind Body Approach addresses the mind and body together as a whole system. It recognizes that our minds and bodies are inextricably connected. This concept is familiar at some level to everyone - we know that when we get nervous, our stomach might get upset, and when we get embarrassed, our face might flush red. In the same way, there are times when chronic pain is created, extended, or exacerbated by what is happening in our minds.
One way to understand this approach is by thinking about how PTSD works. When a person has nightmares or flashbacks, the brain is broadcasting that a scary situation is happening right now - even though it has already passed. Sometimes, a similar thing can happen with chronic symptoms. The brain is detecting a threat and trying to warn us.
Pain is a danger signal. Sometimes, the brain is telling us that the body is in danger, when actually the danger has passed but our brain doesn’t know it yet. And if our brain doesn’t know it, it will continue to send us those same symptoms, stuck in a loop of misery. The Mind Body Approach is a set of information, tools, and techniques to rewire the brain so that it no longer needs to be stuck in chronic symptoms. This can be an incredibly freeing and hope-giving experience!
It’s important to emphasize: all symptoms are real, and they deserve to be taken seriously. Your pain is not your fault: it is a consequence of being a human on this planet. Pain originates in the brain, 100% of the time, and all pain is real.
What will it look like to use this approach?
In our work together, we will discuss practical knowledge and skills for lasting change. We will practice skills from Pain Reprocessing Therapy together – such as guided imagery, somatic tracking, affirmations, graded exposure, and other Mind Body techniques. Then you can continue to practice these skills at home. These approaches help calm the nervous system, reduce stress responses, and create space for new patterns of thought and emotion to emerge.
In addition, the use of EAET - Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy - can facilitate the expression and release of emotions held in the body, so that you can find increased freedom from not only the emotional burdens you carry, but also the physical symptoms connected to these emotions.
This approach is collaborative and dynamic, involving active participation from both therapist and client to be effective. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and we will work together to find the best strategies for your unique mind and body. I invite your feedback throughout this process to hear which practical strategies resonate most with you.
*Please, always consult with a medical provider first to rule out structural causes for your symptoms.
*None of the above information should be taken as medical advice.
Frequently asked questions
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
Resources
Below you'll find organizations that are great resources for learning more about the Mind Body Approach:
Freedom from Chronic Pain
The Freedom From Chronic Pain program was created by Professor of Medicine Dr Howard Schubiner (USA) and Australian pain psychotherapist Hal Greenham. This is a structured online pain recovery program, backed by professional support. Based on the latest neuroscience of chronic pain, it’s been designed by experts and pain sufferers for pain sufferers.
Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms
The Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms (ATNS) focuses on educating, supporting, and advancing understanding of “neuroplastic” pain and chronic illness — symptoms that persist not because of ongoing physical damage but due to learned nerve-pathway changes in the brain and nervous system.
.png)
Curable
Curable's mission is to help the world discover life-changing pain relief by making mindbody medicine accessible and effective for all. They take the latest research in pain science and make it easy to understand, convenient to use, and affordable to access with or without insurance.
The Doctors Who Trained Me
I've learned from those at the forefront of the Mind Body Approach. Learn more about their work:
Center for Insight Medicine
Insight Medicine is a healing-oriented philosophy and practice focused on developing knowledge and experience of the body’s inherent capacity for self-regulation and health maintenance. It is holistic in that it views symptoms and emotions as natural “alarms” that must be recognized and understood, not merely irritations to be suppressed.
Mind Body Medicine
UnlearnYourPain.com is an educational platform created by Howard Schubiner, M.D., focused on helping people understand and recover from chronic pain and other persistent symptoms through a mind-body approach. The site teaches that many long-standing conditions are driven by learned neural pathways in the brain rather than ongoing physical damage, and that these patterns can be changed.
Resilience Healthcare
Developed by Howard Schubiner, MD, Mind Body Syndrome (MBS) describes chronic pain and other physical symptoms that are real but driven by the brain’s response to stress rather than structural damage. By understanding the brain’s role in maintaining symptoms, individuals can retrain neural pathways and find relief.
