Mindbody Medicine for Chronic Pain

Jess Freedman is a mindbody psychotherapist and the cofounder of Rewire NYC (the New York ATNS Chapter). Jess has recovered from a plethora of neuroplastic symptoms, the most difficult of which was chronic shoulder pain. She shares her journey from very severe symptoms to a long recovery to becoming a therapist who helps others with chronic pain. Jess is a fellow theater kid, so we have a good tim...

This is a long one. And a deep one. (And a good one). Most recoverers don’t say much about this, but most people acknowledge a spiritual shift as they heal from chronic pain. Today, we’re addressing that head-on. We’re making space for you to explore your sense of spirituality, of religion, and even of God. In this Episode: 🔹 I’m not telling you what to believe. I don’t know what you “should” bel...

Anna Holtzman is a true mentor of mine. She’s a therapist and coach. Anna’s helped many, many clients out of chronic pain and symptoms…and she began noticing that the same patterns underlying chronic pain also keep many people from expressing themselves fully and pursuing the lives they really want. Now, Anna works with clients to help them with visibility: expressing themselves, putting themselve...

Today, we’re talking about something a little different: ketamine. Is ketamine the cure for chronic pain? No. But, can ketamine be a tool to help deepen the psychological and emotional work that heals chronic pain? Yes, I think so. Let’s discuss. In this Episode: 🔹 It’s 2026, everyone’s talking about ketamine, so we’re gonna talk about it too. 🔹 We cover the basic facts about ketamine, including...

When your friends and family don’t understand, when your doctors can’t find anything wrong, when you find mindbody modalities and they take a long time to work...you deserve empathy. In this Episode: 🔹 You deserve empathy before you understand mindbody healing. 🔹 You deserve empathy AFTER you understand mindbody healing. 🔹 You deserve empathy, from others and from yourself, all the way through....

Does thinking about your trauma make you feel horrible? Maybe you’re already feeling dysregulated? Justine Stull is an occupational therapist, a mindbody coach, a long-time mindbody symptom sufferer, and has a beautifully inspiring recovery story. On the podcast today, she discusses her personal journey with healing trauma to heal physical pain and symptoms. She offers wonderful advice – for you –...

Dr. Howard Schubiner is at the forefront of this field. His book dropped THIS WEEK. Brand new and fresh, it’s time for you to order: Unlearn Your Pain: The Science of Recovering from Chronic Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety, and Depression . In celebration, we’re doing an episode inspired by one of Dr. Howard Schubiner’s healing practices. He tells us: stay away from the 7 F’s. These are 7 common traps for...

Nathaniel Frank, PhD is an author, historian, and science writer. His book, Healing What Hurts: How Neuroscience is Cracking the Mystery of Chronic Pain, is forthcoming from the Mayo Clinic Press. Nathaniel’s also my friend, and we legit hang out, so it’s a pleasure to host him on the podcast today. In this Episode: 🔹 We discuss neuroplastic healing from the perspective of a science writer. 🔹 Na...

Today, we’re addressing the lack of awareness about chronic pain in the media. We’re looking at a recent Guardian article – and you can follow along: Seven Essential Gadgets to Live with when you have Back Pain, From Grabbers to Lap Desks by Richard Baguley But, my message to you: don’t buy this sh*t. Learn how to use graded exposure and other mindbody modalities instead. You can heal your pain. –...

You've said it, you've thought it: "it wasn't that bad." Today, we’re helping you change the lens through which you view your traumas. In this Episode: 🔹 We discuss the difference between enfranchised trauma and disenfranchised trauma. 🔹 Disenfranchised trauma: when the person who experiences a trauma does not have their experience acknowledged as a serious, legitimate problem – and the person i...

Pain psychologist Dr. Dan Ratner has been named the new ATNS Board Chair. A huge congratulations to Dan. Today, he returns to the show to discuss a whole range of topics – from the direction of the ATNS, spreading the word about neuroplastic symptom recovery therapies, “gray area” neuroplastic symptoms at the edge of our understanding, autoimmune diseases, and more. In this Episode: 🔹 A brief out...

In this Episode: How To Change Your Negative Patterns 🔹 Step 1) Awareness of patterns that aren’t serving you. Become aware of patterns that keep your emotions repressed and keep your true self repressed. 🔹 Step 2) Recognize a new pattern that will serve you better. 🔹 Step 3) Try on the new pattern. Practice the new pattern. All of these steps are hard. But they are possible for you. And this,...

Nida Tansinsin, MPT has been working in rehab for 25 years. She's evolved at the cutting edge of neuroplasticity work, and she’s a physical therapist who can help you. Nida teaches us that, although traditional physical therapy isn’t necessarily helpful for chronic pain, neuroplasticity-informed physical therapy changes the game. In this Episode: 🔹 Many traditional physical therapists dread seein...

Dustin Oliver is a therapist in Brooklyn. He specializes in working with gay and queer men. Dustin joins us today to discuss minority stress, particularly from a queer male perspective. Dustin comes to us with research studies, definitions, clinical experience–you’re gonna learn a lot. And, of course, we connect minority stress to healing chronic pain. In this Episode: 🔹 What is minority stress?...

Most people with musculoskeletal pain try physical therapy. If musculoskeletal pain is your TMS symptom imperative, you’ve been there. And, has the physical therapy worked for you? Let’s discuss. In this Episode: 🔹 Physical therapy hasn’t worked for you because it isn’t addressing the root causes of your pain. 🔹 TMS/Neuroplastic pain is caused by psychological factors, emotional factors, and a l...

TMS/Mindbody coach Emily Larson joins us today to address the most common healing blocks she sees in her practice. Emily offers simple, boiled-down, straightforward advice. This will be incredibly valuable for your healing. In this Episode: 🔹 The final step that brought Emily to a full recovery: allowing the symptoms. 🔹 Get off the fence and decide that this applies to you. 🔹 Start living as th...

Dr. Sarno encouraged his patients to journal about three major topics: 1) childhood, 2) current life stressors, and 3) personality traits. For most people, personality traits were the hardest part to understand. In today’s bonus episode, in an attempt to make this clear, we’re going deep into the personality traits. WARNING: If you’re here for some simple information about chronic pain healing, ma...

I’ve never really told the full arc of my chronic IBS recovery story here on the podcast. So, it’s the Season 4 Finale, and today’s the day. Trigger warning: In this irritable bowel syndrome story, we’re talking about bodies and bowels. It's not something we usually discuss openly, but the bowels are part of my body and part of yours. Let's release the shame and just talk about it. In this Episode...

Mônica is a chronic pain and symptom recovery coach. Today, she generously shares the emotional thrust of her remarkable recovery story, giving a plethora of expert advice along the way. In this Episode: 🔹 Mônica’s overcome chronic piriformis pain, chronic IBS, digestive issues, food allergies, chronic shoulder pain, back pain, knee pain, chronic headaches, severe menstrual pain, postpartum anxie...

Today, we’re discussing the common question: Is the pain a false alarm? And we’re also addressing the deeper question underneath: …Or is the pain something else? In this Episode: 🔹 Your brain and nervous system are misinterpreting safe signals from your body as if they are dangerous. 🔹 Your brain and nervous system are functioning perfectly. There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong...

Karden Rabin, along with Jennifer Mann, co-authored the book The Secret Language of the Body: Regulate Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, Free Your Mind . Karden started his career as a massage therapist and bodyworker, focusing on anatomy, function, and kinesiology. “It was all about structure and function.” However, as his career progressed, he found “many times, it doesn’t work.” In this Epis...

In TMS healing, we’re working to uncover the hard-to-feel feelings. We’re looking for the “I don’t feel…” We’re looking for the emotions you’re defended against and the emotions you’re scared to feel. Today, I’m showing you how to feel what you really feel. In this Episode: 🔹 Three examples from my life, where I start at the surface, and show what it looks like to dig deeper. 🔹 A model for you t...

In mindbody healing, we all deal with doubt. We all deal with disbelief. The people in your life may not believe this will work. Parts of you may not believe this will work. But, if you have TMS, then psychological and emotional modalities are the way forward. In healing TMS, there’s actually no other way. In this Episode: 🔹 Does one small change heal chronic pain? Usually not. 🔹 What heals chro...

Dr. Jennifer Franklin has practiced as a psychologist for over 20 years. She specializes in IBS and was one of the first Gastro-Psychologists or GI Psychologists. Today, she sits down to talk with us. In this Episode: 🔹 Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about IBS and the gut-brain connection. 🔹 We explore the emergence of the concept of DGBIs (Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction). 🔹 Dr. Fran...

RuPaul says, “If you can’t love yourself…how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” Today, we explore this concept in depth. The core message today: if it’s hard for you to love yourself, that is not your fault. I probably repeat that about 10 times in today’s episode. If you need to hear that - 10 times - then you’re like me. And you’re in the right place. Join us. In this Episode: 🔹 We prob...