Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management Practical Training

This training is experiential, applying Mindfulness concepts to chronic pain management, and exploring trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive best practices, including ethical, privacy and safety issues in group facilitation. Participants can be “lived experience” learners, and/or professionals wishing to explore the application of mindfulness to chronic pain suffering. The weekly format allows for a gradual unfolding of the benefits of Mindfulness practice over the time period of the training. This group work provides the template on which to base observations that could be made with a therapeutic chronic pain patient group, and includes some participant learners who will be managing their own chronic pain conditions. In addition to exploring formal practices applied to pain management, there is exposure to other components of the course, including trauma-sensitive preambles prior to formal practices, the skilful use of inquiry, and the exploration of relevant key topics through small group and large group discussions. Use of dyads and small groups as a trauma-sensitive strategy provides insight and support for the diversity of interactions encountered in Mindfulness practice, while keeping participants within their “Window of Tolerance”. Concepts in secondary pain, context, neuroplasticity and immunity will be explored. The training provides insights into the lens through which chronic pain sufferers view their world, and showcases trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive Mindful facilitation in a group setting.  This training also managed chronic stress conditions: a separate workbook is available for the stress course with parallel content.