About The Chronic Pain Method
Committed to helping health practitioners and patients understand and manage chronic pain
Chronic pain is a complex and debilitating condition, affecting around 3.4 million people in Australia. It’s estimated that this figure will increase to 5.2 million by 2050.
Chronic pain isn’t easy to treat. It involves practitioners who understand the nature of chronic pain and who can provide evidence-based solutions. Ideally, practitioners should work in an interdisciplinary way — that is talking transparently to each other, rather than working individually and putting the onus on the patient to update each practitioner.
Unfortunately, evidence suggests that pain medications, including opioids are overused to treat chronic pain. This is problematic when medication alone is not effective for long-term management of chronic pain, and that the use of opioids can be harmful.
Research shows that chronic pain is best treated using a combination of physical therapies, lifestyle changes and psychotherapy. In particular, learning about the science of chronic pain and changing thoughts, beliefs and emotional about pain can lead to reduced pain and disability.
This is what The Chronic Pain Method is all about.
Our Story
The Chronic Pain Method was born out of a desire to combine the benefits of physiotherapy with psychotherapy to provide better chronic pain solutions.
Most physiotherapists have a hard time treating chronic pain because they are trained in manual treatment. But chronic pain is more than physical; it’s emotional and psychosocial which means manual treatment on its own isn’t an effective long-term strategy. Because people with chronic pain only experience limited benefit from physio treatment, they usually leave the practice, still in pain, and the physiotherapist is left feeling disappointed and frustrated they couldn’t help their patient.
Then we learned about one physiotherapist who combined physiotherapy treatment with psychotherapy to treat his chronic pain patients. Not only was he able to deliver effective treatment strategies to his patients, but they kept coming back because they noticed a difference in how they were feeling.
The only problem was, he couldn’t take on any more patients, as his appointment schedule was full and it was difficult to scale his practice.
So, we developed a treatment model that combined the skills of physiotherapists with the expertise of psychotherapists trained in chronic pain. We call it The Chronic Pain Method.
And it’s now available to integrate into other physiotherapy clinics through the Chronic Pain Method training course and the ongoing support system we offer practitioners.
The Chronic Pain Method
for Patients
People who suffer from chronic pain often need to see multiple health practitioners to help them manage their condition.
While a multidisciplinary approach is the recommended treatment for chronic pain, individual health practitioners are reluctant to share patient information with other practitioners.
This means patients are responsible for keeping each health practitioner up to date with their pain, current treatment plan and how they have been progressing with other practitioners.
Quite frankly, it’s exhausting and upsetting for patients suffering from chronic pain to keep telling their story over and over again, often not being believed because chronic pain is an ‘invisible illness’. It’s well documented that chronic pain sufferers are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and fatigue — so barriers accessing treatment only make their pain worse.
The Chronic Pain Method changes that. Our model involves physiotherapists and psychotherapists working together seamlessly (with the patient’s permission) to deliver chronic pain treatments that consider all aspects of chronic pain.
The Chronic Pain Method
for Practitioners
The Chronic Pain Method is a treatment model that can easily be integrated into an existing physiotherapy practice.
After successfully completing The Chronic Pain Method training course, physiotherapists are equipped to work alongside chronic pain trained psychotherapists to deliver chronic pain treatments to their patients that will make a difference.
This is the ideal model for physiotherapists who want to learn more about treating chronic pain, without the need to study a further degree. When The Chronic Pain Method is successfully integrated into your practice, you will be able to build your reputation as a practitioner who can help chronic pain patients and grow your practice.
Our Partners
We are proud to partner with
tria
The Relational Institute Australia
Created the bespoke course for CPM. Providing quality, accredited training in counselling and psychotherapy focusing on skill development for the emerging practitioner.
janet gavrily
Consultant and Mentor
Working especially with clinics in the Allied Health space, supporting owners and their teams to find their strengths and grow their business from the front desk to high end practice growth strategy.
new body
Host Practice
The first practice to integrate The Chronic Pain Method and train all staff in the treatment and systems. The practice has been physically set up to accommodate both Physiotherapy and Psychotherapy modality under one roof. Please feel free to drop in and have a look at the space.
Our trainers
Ashleigh Power
Ashleigh (CM PACFA) is a psychotherapist and educator with 30 years experience in the counselling practice and education sectors.
She is the Founder and CEO of The Relational Institute Australia and holds Master level qualifications in Psychotherapy through a holistic and trauma informed lens.
Ashleigh brings substantial experience in working with clients in a body focused way, supporting the intersection of the psychological focus of the CPM model.
Faraz Majlessi
Faraz is an APA Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist and clinical educator. He completed his Masters in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in 2021.
As one of the initial therapists to work with patients in the clinical trials for The Chronic Pain Method he has played a pivotal role in the development of the program.
Presently Faraz is an educator and supervisor for the program, sharing his knowledge and expertise with both patients and practitioners.
Janet Gavrily
Founder and creator of The Chronic Pain Method, Janet has over 25 years’ experience in business development, especially focusing on empowering practice owners to achieve business expansion. With a proven track record, she guides and inspires, enabling allied health professionals to reach their full potential.
With a specialisation in support staff training and development, her course modules focus on cultivating high performance teams.
Her skills lie not only in fostering growth but also ensuring seamless implementation of new systems and strategies, ensuring every team member is aligned towards a shared goal.
Corey Iskenderian
Corey BSc (Hons), BSc Human Anatomy, Master PDTR and NKT Practitioner. is the Principal Physiotherapist and owner of New Body Physiotherapy. He will always hold the distinction of being the inaugural adopter of The Chronic Pain Method.
With the first trials being run within his practice, he witnessed first hand the success of the method, with his team and associates all being adept in the system.
Corey has extensive knowledge and experience in working with individuals battling chronic pain. He is the inspiration for the creation of CPM and has been an invaluable member of the education team.
Testimonials
Both my Physiotherapist and the Psychotherapist at the clinic have made me feel incredibly supported and heard.
This is different from many of the practitioners I have visited in the past, who did not make me feel heard or like my symptoms/feelings/experiences were valid. The practitioners at CPM have been nothing but supportive and show genuine care and consideration to what you have to say.
I was nervous but also excited to commit to something that felt real. Up until that point I had managed fibromyalgia and chronic pain in a very isolated and haphazard way. I was looking forward to working with a team of people who I could lean on for their expertise and guidance.
The biggest benefit I have received is a combination of feeling understood and feeling like I have support around me. That has allowed me to feel safe, to open up to both practitioners and become curious about my health and mindset. Prior to the program, exploring how I felt both physically and mentally felt terrifying and “too much”. But with their support and patience, I feel empowered to be more aware of my body and how I feel.
Ella, 28 years
CPM is a complete program which has had considerable effort, structure and refinement put into it.
It encompasses not just the core modals of treatment but also relates them to one another, creating a more complimentary treatment. It looks at the underlying factors, deep inside the mind and nervous system that underpins everything that we are, rather than addressing symptoms or physical/mechanical elements.
Knowing that programs such as this exist is a form of relief just by itself. Chronic pain can be debilitating, it impedes your life and so often reduces you to feeling and living like a subset of your true self.
Since engaging in the program, I have shifted from a life of fear, pain, and limitation to a life of hope, adventure and fun. I am enjoying weekends away camping and hiking and have an overall improved sense of peace and happiness. I saw my body before as being a restriction whereas I now see it as an enabler; a tool which (provided I honor and provide what it needs) can do more than I believed it could.
Mike, 47 years
Get in touch
To find out more about the Chronic Pain Method and how we can help you, please get in touch
References:
Pain Australia, Chronic pain and the working population, https://www.painaustralia.org.au/about-pain/painaustralia-painful-facts
Statista Research Department, Number of people with chronic pain Australia 2018 – 2050, April 2, 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1065971/australia-number-of-people-with-chronic-pain/
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Chronic Pain Management. Nih.gov. Published 2019. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92054/
Mittinty MM, Vanlint S, Stocks N, Mittinty MN, Moseley GL. Exploring effect of pain education on chronic pain patients' expectation of recovery and pain intensity.Scand J Pain. 2018;18(2):211-219. doi:10.1515/sjpain-2018-0023
Lane E, Fritz JM, Greene T, Maddox D. The effectiveness of training physical therapists in pain neuroscience education on patient reported outcomes for patients with chronic spinal pain: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2018;19(1):386. Published 2018 Oct 25. doi:10.1186/s12891-018-2269-2
Williams ACC, Fisher E, Hearn L, Eccleston C. Psychological therapies for the management of chronic pain (excluding headache) in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;8(8):CD007407. Published 2020 Aug 12. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007407.pub4
Pain Australia, National Strategic Action Plan for Pain Management Evidence Base – Companion Document – 2019, https://www.painaustralia.org.au/policy-research/painaustralia-national-action-plan