Over half of anxiety and depression symptoms are accompanied with chronic pain, with up to 96% seen in those impacted by trauma…

European Psychiatry Journal 2025

A man with curly hair, wearing a denim shirt, stands with his back to the camera, holding his lower back with both hands in a workshop or warehouse.

Pain

Pain is one of the most misunderstood conditions in healthcare, as it’s often assumed to be solely a sign of tissue damage or physical injury. But in reality, pain is a complex experience generated by the nervous system and shaped by many factors — including mood, stress, past experiences (especially trauma), beliefs, and the environment. Many people are told that their pain can only be “managed” and that they must learn to live with it. This is simply untrue.

What can be done?

Pain is a protective signal — and essentially a message from the body. Over time, this signal can become “learned” in the brain and nervous system, even when there is no ongoing injury. The challenge is that these messages are not always obvious or accessible. However, when we become curious about the meaning behind pain — rather than fighting or fearing it — there is real potential for change.

Just as pain can become learned, it can also be unlearned. With the right support, the brain and body can develop new pathways that reduce pain, increase safety, and restore a sense of trust and connection with the body.

Working with pain

This clinic supports individuals experiencing persistent, chronic, complex, or medically unexplained pain conditions. These may commonly be referred to as (but not limited to):

  • CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome)

  • Vaginismus, dyspareunia, or genito-pelvic pain/penetration difficulties

  • Fibromyalgia

  • TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome)

  • Neuropathic pain or phantom limb pain

  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional pain conditions

Therapy works gently with the nervous system using mindfulness-based experiential approaches — helping to shift the body from protection and fear, towards safety, regulation, and possibility.

Reference

Stubbs B, Ma R, Solmi M, et al. Chronic pain in mental disorders: An umbrella review of the prevalence, risk factors, and treatments across 957,168 people with mental disorders and 16,606,910 controls. European Psychiatry. 2025;68(1):e113. doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.10074