My Approach
My work draws on several complementary, evidence-based modalities, woven together into a programme that's tailored to you.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is an innovative, evidence-based system of psychological techniques that retrains the brain to interpret and respond to signals from the body — subsequently breaking the cycle of chronic pain. It combines the latest knowledge in pain science and neuroscience with practical, structured techniques to bring about real, lasting change.
The brain decides what pain is helpful based on everything going on in the body, everything that has happened in the past, everything it expects might happen in the future, and anything it perceives as a threat. Pain is complex and deeply individual, but understanding it properly gives us the power to change it.
PRT has five main components:
A randomised controlled study at the University of Colorado Boulder validated PRT as the most effective current treatment for chronic pain. In the study, 100 chronic back pain patients were split into two groups — half received 8 sessions of PRT, and half received treatment as usual. In the PRT group, 98% of patients improved, and 66% were pain-free or nearly pain-free at the end of treatment. These outcomes were largely maintained one year later. The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is one of the most thoroughly researched and widely used psychological therapies available. It is based on the understanding that our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviours are all deeply interconnected — and that by gently shifting unhelpful patterns in one area, we can create positive change throughout.
In the context of chronic pain and persistent symptoms, CBT can be particularly powerful. Pain often creates cycles of fear and avoidance — we become afraid of movement, activity, or situations that we associate with discomfort, and over time these patterns can amplify the pain itself. CBT helps to identify and interrupt those cycles, building more balanced ways of thinking and responding.
Through CBT, we work together to:
Alongside PRT and CBT, I integrate mindfulness practices and clinical hypnotherapy where they are a good fit for the individual client.
Hypnotherapy harnesses the power of hypnosis for therapeutic change. During hypnosis you are guided into a deeply relaxed state where you are more receptive to suggestions. This allows your imagination to do the work and become focused on achieving your goal. In hypnosis, we can rehearse real-life situations safely and easily, and try out changes in your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Combining hypnosis and suggestions in this way makes therapeutic change faster, more powerful, and more easily accessible to you. This is why hypnotherapy combined with CBT can be much more effective than CBT alone. A 2024 meta-analysis in Frontiers in Psychology covering 20 years of evidence found that hypnosis has robust effectiveness for pain management, and that hypnosis used alongside CBT produces stronger outcomes than CBT alone.
Mindfulness helps to cultivate a gentler, more curious relationship with physical sensations, reducing the reactivity and fear that so often intensify pain. Regular practice can calm an overactive nervous system and build a greater sense of safety in the body. A landmark 2016 randomised controlled trial published in JAMA (Cherkin et al., 342 adults with chronic low back pain) found that mindfulness-based stress reduction produced significantly greater improvements in pain and function compared to usual care.
Some clients notice relief from their pain or symptoms almost immediately. However, brain retraining takes time, and the majority of clients see more dramatic and lasting results after applying the techniques consistently over several months.
I therefore recommend committing to a programme of at least 10 sessions for lasting results — though a pay-as-you-go option is also available if you'd prefer to start there.
We begin with a 90-minute initial consultation, where we explore your history, your symptoms, and what you're hoping to achieve. From there, we build a programme together that feels right for you.