Lauren Necesario Smith, PsyD, HSPP
Psychotherapy + Testing + Consultation
108 N Vine St, Suite B
Greencastle, IN 46135
Phone: 765-205-1135
Living Your
Life with
Chronic Pain
You may have arrived here if:
-
a medical provider said you need to see a psychologist
-
you've been told that your mental health is affecting your chronic pain
-
you need to have a psychological evaluation for your implantation device
However you arrived here, I can only imagine how tough it's been. Please take a look to check and see if any of my services may help you.
I am also a certified Empowered Relief™ instructor through Stanford University.
Empowered Relief is an evidence-based, single-session pain class that provides clients with pain management skills. It was developed at Stanford University by pain psychologist, Beth Darnall, PhD. The Empowered Relief two hour program has been providing relief to chronic pain patients at Stanford University since 2013. Click here to read more about the results of this program.
Pain impacts the mind and body
You may have started experiencing pain shortly after sustaining a major injury; maybe the pain showed up after you had a surgery that was supposed to "fix" the pain. Or maybe the pain just showed up out of no where and now you've had it ever since and can't seem to find a way to get rid of it. Not only does the pain impact your physical body, but it can also impact you mentally. There is a high correlation between chronic pain and depression, anxiety.
Why do people keep saying my mood is impacting my pain?
When we look at pain through a biopsychosocial model, we see that to understand pain, we cannot just focus on the medical aspects of it. We have to look at all parts of our life that could be contributing to our pain: bio- (medications, physical activity, sleep behaviors), psycho- (thoughts, feelings, behaviors), and social - (family, friends, work environment). Could it be that our moods are impacting the intensity of which we feel our day to day pain? It's a possibility.
But you're a psychologist. Why would I see you for pain management?
Psychologists can take on a few roles in the world of pain management, including: providing clients with education on how to manage feelings of anxiety, depression, or hopelessness that may come up after dealing with chronic pain for so long; helping clients learn to set reasonable and manageable expectations for themselves and their physical functioning; monitor compliance and motivation for treatment; teach additional coping strategies to help clients learn how to regain some functioning.
My approach to treating chronic pain?
I utilize techniques based on CBT, ACT, mindfulness and PRT (Pain Reprocessing Therapy) to help you identify thoughts and beliefs that you may have about your pain. We also explore patterns of your behaviors that you engage in that may continue to maintain these thoughts and beliefs about your pain. I utilize the biopsychosocial model when understanding each unique individual and how pain shows up for you.
