"Chronic pain is not all about the body, and it's not all about the brain - it's everything. Target everything. Take back your like."

Psychological therapy is an effective treatment for treating chronic pain and headaches.  In some cases, it shows improvements similar to or greater than most medical treatments!  You may be wondering how it works. How does addressing your mind actually improve your physical pain? Well, pain is a physical and psychological experience affected by biological, psychological, and sociological factors (click here to learn more). 

Most medical and common treatments only deal with one aspect of the problem (biological) while leaving other components (emotional, psychological, etc) unaddressed.  It is the equivalent of trying to bake a cake with just sugar; it doesn't turn out well. A pain psychologist can help you deal with your suffering, including emotional challenges and life changes, no matter what caused them.  Pain and suffering are also different aspects of your experience, and medical treatments tend to ignore your suffering. Lots of people have faced challenges during medical appointments when their suffering was brushed aside, ignored, or not taken seriously by healthcare providers.

I started this practice to offer New Yorkers the best treatment backed by evidence, while also making the process as simple as can be.  My treatments are part of the standard of care put forth by many governmental, national, and international organizations on pain treatment. Research and guidelines typically far out-pace practice (sometimes by decades), and working with a pain psychologist has been slow but growing. One problem is that psychologists and medical providers often aren't up-to-date on the latest pain theories. I started this practice to offer you effective pain treatment and to educate both providers and the public about the advantages of pain psychology. 

 It's important to note that therapy is only part of your treatment plan. To better support you, I will request permission to work with your medical team to best serve and support you. It's also important to work with a psychologist who is an expert in treating your specific conditions.  I discuss some steps for determining such expertise in one of my blog posts. Such providers will be better equipped to improve the quality of your life. 

Our brains treat emotional and physical pain the same!  That's why we use similar words to describe emotional pain, like when you feel hurt after a breakup, and physical pain, such as when you hurt your hand by hitting it with a hammer.  Although you may feel pain in part of your body, it occurs in your brain due to complex interactions between your brain and body.  Pain is a perception, and just like your perception of sight, it can be tricked.

What occurs in your brain is a reflection of your psychology, personality, and history.  To feel better and lessen your pain, it's important to deal with the psychological side of your pain. Otherwise, the pain may come back. 

Demand for psychological support is continuously growing.  The supply of experts has not kept pace with the demand, making it difficult to find support and treatment.  I created this practice to provide such a resource to people in New York State.  If you live outside of New York, you can still contact me and I will try to find someone who can help! I strive to provide and connect you with the highest quality and evidence-based care.  I chose to focus my practice on specific areas to bring the highest quality care to you and your team.