Chronic pain affects the body both physically and emotionally. Our pain psychologists focus on the mind-body connection when developing your treatment plan. We offer a variety of psychology services to help children and teens manage the stress, anxiety, and emotions that are experienced with chronic pain.
Our pain psychologists provide scientifically-supported treatments to help children and teens to better manage pain through pain-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation, and stress management techniques. It can be difficult for parents to know what to do when their child experiences pain. Our psychologists can also help parents find ways to support their child with chronic pain.
In addition to individual pain psychology sessions, we also offer group therapy sessions with other like-aged patients who share in the chronic pain experience, including the Comfort Ability Workshop and the Young Adult Support Group. Patients and families who are currently receiving treatment by the Division of Pain and Palliative Medicine will be referred by their pain management physician or nurse practitioner if deemed beneficial to your treatment plan, and our scheduling team will call you to schedule.
Comfort Ability Workshop
Comfort Ability is a workshop for children and teens ages 10-17 with chronic pain and their parents. The goal of the workshop is to increase comfort, improve functioning, and enhance quality of life. This workshop introduces several scientifically-supported strategies that help children and teens to better manage their pain. Parents will also learn behavioral strategies to help support their children.
The Comfort Ability Workshop was originally developed by Dr. Rachael Coakley at Boston Children’s Hospital and is now available at several children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada. If you are interested in enrolling in the Comfort Ability Workshop, please contact us at 860.837.5207 or let your pain management provider know. For more information about the workshop, please visit the Comfort Ability website.
Young Adult Support Group
The Young Adult Support Group is offered monthly to young adults ages 18-26 with chronic pain. The goal of this peer support group is to provide a safe space to share your thoughts, feelings and insights with other patients living with chronic pain and navigating young adulthood. If interested in participating, please contact us at 860.837.5207 or let your pain management provider know.