Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
ABOUT
AN EVIDENCED-BASED TREATMENT APPROACH FOR CHRONIC PAIN & OTHER CHRONIC SYMPTOMS
Introduction to Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
Living with chronic pain can feel like an endless journey of frustration, disappointment, and searching for answers. You may have tried everything to treat or manage your symptoms, yet still find yourself struggling with persistent pain—feeling stuck, exhausted, and unsure of how to find relief. Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) offers a different path forward. This pioneering, evidence-based approach harnesses the power of both mind and body, addressing the neural pathways that maintain pain while acknowledging the very real experience of your symptoms.
Rooted in modern pain science, PRT teaches you how to shift your brain's learned pain response. Through a blend of neuroscience education, cognitive-behavioral tools, emotional awareness practices, and somatic techniques, PRT transforms your relationship with pain with the ultimate goal of significantly reducing or eliminating chronic pain symptoms. Whether you've been dealing with pain for months or years, PRT can help you break free from the cycle of chronic pain and return to a more active, engaged, and fulfilling life.
How Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) Works
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is an integrative mind-body therapeutic approach that helps your brain reprocess pain signals and shift pain-related beliefs. During the PRT process, you'll learn practical tools to soothe your body, observe pain without fear, and address key pain triggers while discovering new ways to understand your pain. This approach helps your nervous system develop new, more adaptive ways of interpreting sensations, often leading to significant or complete pain relief. Many people who try PRT experience not only reduced pain levels but also improved mood, better sleep, and enhanced overall well-being.
The 5 Phases of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
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In this first phase of PRT, you'll explore current pain science to understand how your brain creates and maintains pain—and most importantly, how your brain can develop new neural pathways to reduce or eliminate chronic pain symptoms. You'll also learn about the role your nervous system plays in pain processing and discover how factors like stress, emotions, beliefs, and past experiences can influence pain. This initial stage often reshapes many beliefs about pain, setting the groundwork for developing a new understanding of and relationship with your mind and body.
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Next, we'll explore the ins and outs of your personal pain experience. Through a collaborative assessment process, we'll look for signs that your pain may stem from central nervous system processes rather than tissue damage, injury or other structural causes. During this stage, we’ll identify patterns in your pain experience and gather evidence to strengthen the belief that your body is safe and capable of healing.
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Through somatic tracking, you'll learn to observe pain with a gentle, curious attitude - helping your brain attend to your body’s sensations through a lens of safety rather than fear. With the guidance of your therapist or coach, you’ll learn various ways to apply somatic tracking so your nervous system can keep soaking up the benefits of this practice outside of sessions. With practice and repetition, somatic tracking can shift your brain’s perception of pain, disrupt the pain-fear cycle, and ultimately lead to symptom relief.
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In this phase, we'll explore aspects of your life that may keep your nervous system in a "high alert" state. This may include addressing uncomfortable or challenging emotions, difficult relationships, work and family stressors, and more. By addressing these concerns, we'll work to create a greater sense of safety in your inner world, which can help reduce pain signals and promote a more balanced nervous system response.
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In this final phase of PRT, you'll learn to shift your focus toward comfortable and pleasant feelings and sensations. This gentle redirection helps reorient your brain's attention patterns, gradually transforming how you experience and relate to your body. Instead of being caught in cycles of pain awareness, you'll develop skills to recognize and appreciate moments of comfort, ease and neutrality in your body.
PAIN REPROCESSING THERAPY CAN HELP WITH:
→ Chronic pain symptoms including: back and neck pain, pelvic pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain and more
→ Fibromyalgia
→ Headaches and migraines
→ Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
→ Interstitial Cystitis (IC) / Bladder Pain Syndrome
→ Chronic fatigue
→ Chronic dizziness or vertigo
→ Other neuroplastic or neural circuit symptoms
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF PAIN REPROCESSING THERAPY INCLUDE:
→ Reduction or elimination of chronic pain and other chronic symptoms
→ Decreased fear and anxiety related to pain
→ Increased coping strategies for managing pain and anxiety
→ Increased resilience to stress and pain triggers
→ Enhanced emotional regulation skills
→ Improved sleep quality
→ Increased participation in meaningful activities and life experiences
Ready to Explore Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) Further?
YOUR PRT THERAPIST & COACH
Christine Archer, LMFT, LPCC, CYT
Christine Archer (she/her) is a psychotherapist and pain coach specializing in the use of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) to treat chronic pain. Christine is an advanced practitioner of Pain Reprocessing Therapy, having trained and worked under PRT developer Alan Gordon and team at the Pain Psychology Center for several years. She is also trained as an EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS) practitioner and brings years of therapeutic yoga and breathwork training into her clinical work.
Having navigated her own experiences with chronic pain, Christine brings a deep sense of empathy and understanding to her therapy and coaching work. She now devotes her practice to helping others find more ease in their bodies and minds through the transformative power of Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) FAQs
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Wonderful! Your next step will be to read more about our PRT Therapy and Coaching Intensives which you can do here. If our intensives are the right fit for you, we’ll get you set up for an initial consultation and get the process going from there.
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PRT has proven to be effective with many chronic pain and other chronic conditions including: Back and neck pain, pelvic pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain, fibromyalgia, headaches and migraines, neuropathy, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue, persistent dizziness and vertigo, tinnitus, and other neuroplastic or neural circuit symptoms.
Additionally, PRT is well-suited for those who have been medically cleared yet still experience ongoing symptoms, people willing to engage in mind-body approaches to pain treatment, and individuals with stress-related pain or other chronic symptoms.
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If you are uncertain as to whether your symptoms may be neuroplastic in nature or would like to seek further medical evaluation prior to a PRT Intensive, we have compiled a list of medical professionals who are well-versed in neuroplastic pain and chronic pain treatments:
You can also explore the Pain Reprocessing Therapy Medical Provider Directory to see if there is a PRT-informed medical provider in your local area.
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While Pain Reprocessing Therapy is suitable for many, it is not appropriate as a sole form of treatment for those who are navigating acute injuries, pain due to active tissue damage or disease, and those whose symptoms require immediate medical attention. In these cases, we recommend consulting with your doctor or a qualified medical provider further.
Additionally, those who are navigating severe mental health conditions, substance use disorders and suicidal ideation or self-harm may benefit from additional support prior to or alongside Pain Reprocessing Therapy.
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Yes, Pain Reprocessing Therapy is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain. In a landmark study [1] published by JAMA Psychiatry, results suggested that 98% of patients with chronic back pain showed improvements and 66% of patients were pain-free or nearly pain free following treatment. Many subsequent studies have been done researching PRT’s efficacy with a variety of chronic pain and other chronic symptoms and have shown consistently promising results.
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Pain Reprocessing Therapy is a non-invasive therapeutic approach and is generally considered safe with minimal side effects. While some people may experience temporary discomfort or emotional challenges during the therapeutic process, these are normal and typically subside as treatment progresses.
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Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) differs from traditional pain treatments by focusing on retraining the brain's pain response rather than targeting physical symptoms. Unlike other therapies that may emphasize physical interventions, PRT works by helping patients understand that their chronic pain is often due to learned neural pathways rather than ongoing tissue damage. Unlike other psychotherapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which typically focus on managing symptoms, PRT aims to significantly reduce or eliminate chronic pain entirely.