Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom discusses the essence of chronic illness and an approach to understanding it as the body's response to sustained threats in our environment. He outlines strategies for treating it based on developing coping strategie that allow our nervous systems to cope effectively with these threats. He reiterates his beifef that if applied, these could eliminate much of the i...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Frances Sommer Anderson, a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst specializing in the treatment of pain. She explains the specifics of her approach to treating pain which include: understanding the patient’s background; getting the patient to talk about their feelings; developing a timeline that connects symptoms with feelings a...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Frances Sommer Anderson, a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst specializing in the treatment of pain. She discusses the evolution of her approach to treating mind-body pain, which began when she trained with Dr. John Sarno. Key to her practice are making the patient feel safe in their body, understanding the patient’s background and exploring t...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Robert Paris, CEO of Myelin Leadership International. He describes his “RENEW” process which is designed to help people feel more comfortable with being vulnerable. The process works by explaining how the brain works and how it affects their behavior. He then uses visual stimuli to help them tell their story, starting with childhood....

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Robert Paris, CEO of Myelin Leadership International. He discusses the principles of neuro-leadership which focuses on developing authentic leadership skills within individuals and teams. Key to the concept of authentic leadership are: understanding your motivations and stories first; getting comfortable with expressing emotions; and seeing that vulner...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Howard Schubiner, Director of the Mind Body Medicine Center at Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan. He explains the specific techniques he uses to help patients heal from chronic pain, including helping patients change the neural circuits that govern their experience of pain, and working with them to develop gre...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Howard Schubiner, Director of the Mind Body Medicine Center at Ascension Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan. He discusses the principles behind his groundbreaking approach to treating chronic pain. Key to his treatment are the concepts of assessment to determine if the pain is structural and / or neurologic, predictive coding (how the brai...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Serena Sterling, who trained in clinical psychology and is a certified life coach. She talks about the importance of developing rapport with her patients to learn about the issues and relationships in their lives that may be at the root of their chronic pain. She details her approach to treating chronic pain and shares a patient...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Serena Sterling, who trained in clinical psychology and is a certified life coach, about the evolution of her approach to treating chronic pain. She describes a neuro-emotional technique which uses signals from the body to help determine what feelings are being suppressed that might be at the root of the patient’s chronic pain. She also shares her...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Georgie Oldfield, a leading UK physiotherapist. She shares her insights about the key factors in healing chronic pain and the importance of a patient-physician relationship based on trust. She also discusses the evolution of the organization she created to help clinicians and psychologists learn these techniques and spread awareness...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Georgie Oldfield, a leading physiotherapist and a pioneer in treating chronic pain using a patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach. She discusses her own story of overcoming chronic pain and how she developed an approach to treatment based on spending more time with and listening to patients to better understand what was happening in their lives....

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. David Tauben. He shares his insight that the key to healing chronic pain is for physicians to understand the isolation of patients with chronic pain and how important it is for them to listen to their patients. Ultimately, he believes, they must realize that the patient is the expert with respect to their experience of chronic pa...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. David Tauben, a pioneer in treating chronic pain holistically, using an interdisciplinary approach. He shares how he developed his insights while working in the first pain medicine department in the country. He also discusses the barriers he has faced in creating a new pain curriculum based on the holistic approach for the next generation of physic...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and his wife, family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They discuss how family relationships trigger us the most, and how the reactions to these triggers can amplify the experience of pain.  Through a process of empathic listening, trust can be built and the needs of both the patient in pain and their family m...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and his wife, family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They share their approach to healing through building stronger human relationships and connections. They explain that having to live in a state of “artificial harmony” can be toxic and negative for our health, because it requires constant vigilance and draws down our immune...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Jake Eagle, a psychotherapist and founder of the Live Conscious community. He talks in detail about the three levels of consciousness that we go through on our healing journey. The first level is safety consciousness, where we achieve a feeling of safety from threat. In the next level, heart consciousness, we live in a state of grati...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Jake Eagle, a psychotherapist and founder of the Live Conscious community. He discusses how patients dealing with chronic pain often see themselves as victims and the world as “acting” upon them. He works with them to change their language to the present tense and avoid praise and blame, as a way of reclaiming their personal power and making meaning in...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Chris Dimock, CEO of Elation, an app development company. He provides an overview of the DOC app and the design elements that went into making the app flexible so that it can be personalized to each individual’s needs. He also describes the tools available in the DOC app, and how the app can be used as part of the process an individu...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Chris Dimock, CEO of Elation, an app development company. He discusses how his background in psychology, organization development and digital technology informed his passion for creating apps that use artificial intelligence and digital coaching to solve problems in healthcare. He explains how he is using principles of complexity science to tackle such...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Tom Sullivan about his car accident, surgeries and subsequent journey through chronic pain. After enduring 27 surgeries and trying treatments and medications that didn’t work, he discovered Dr. Hanscom’s book, Back in Control, and applied the DOC principles to cure his chronic pain. His is an incredible story of healing and resilience against very cons...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Geralyn Datz, a clinical health psychologist specializing in the treatment of pain. She shares two very moving patient stories of recovery from severe trauma and chronic pain that illustrate the importance of the patient’s outlook in the healing process, as well as the power of a patient-centered approach to treatment. Dr Geralyn...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Geralyn Datz, a clinical health psychologist specializing in the treatment of pain. She discusses her approach to treating chronic pain which incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); functional therapies (e.g., physical therapy and yoga); psychological testing; assessment by a team of physicians; and listening to the patient and getting the...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Mel Pohl, the Chief Medical Officer of Las Vegas Recovery Center. He shares his center’s approach to treatment which focuses on both pain and addiction.  He explains that typically the physical component of addiction and pain is about 20% of the problem with the other 80% being the emotional component. His details his treatment a...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Mel Pohl, the Chief Medical Officer of Las Vegas Recovery Center, about the nature of addiction and its relationship to chronic pain. He explains that addiction is a disorder of the brain in terms of its response to a particular substance.  He discusses the symptomology of addiction, and the pro-inflammatory nature of opioids which can actually res...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Becky Curtis, founder and CEO of the pain management coaching company, Take Courage Coaching. She talks about the techniques her coaches use in working with patients to help them heal, and the importance of building trust and motivation in helping them make forward progress. She emphasizes the key lesson she learned in dealing with h...