Mind-body approach
Over the course of my career, I have worked with many people who were struggling with ongoing debilitating physical health difficulties. These real challenges were present, often despite normal test results, and often with the person having undergone several treatments that did not provide long term relief. Wishing I could do more to help those suffering in this way, I completed further training in mind-body approaches.
Understanding mind-body symptoms
Many people experience ongoing physical symptoms such as chronic pain, fatigue, tension, digestive issues and a range of other functional symptoms. While the symptoms are real, the underlying cause for many of these can be frustratingly less clear.
We now know that in some of these cases, the brain and nervous system can be involved in creating and maintaining symptoms. Our brains can send pain or discomfort signals even though the body itself is not in danger. If our nervous system has become overly sensitised due to emotional strain, past experiences, or even a previous injury that has already healed, this can leave us more vulnerable to this process becoming stuck. Terms like neuroplastic pain and mind-body syndromes refer to symptoms that occur due to learned neural processes.
Why medical treatments may not help in the longer term
Understandably, medical treatments tend to focus on finding and fixing structural problems in the body or resolving disease processes. But when symptoms are being maintained by the nervous system rather than by ongoing physical injury or disease, structural approaches (like medications, scans, or surgeries) may offer only temporary relief. This can feel veryconfusing or discouraging.
However, when we understand that our nervous systems can learn to produce or maintain symptoms, it becomes easier to see why treatments aimed at the body alone may not create lasting change. The encouraging part is that the same neuroplasticity that allowed the symptoms to develop can also support recovery. The nervous system can learn to calm and reset.
Options for treatment and support
These approaches do not dismiss symptoms. Instead, they work with the nervous system to encourage safety, calm, and to develop new neural pathways:
• Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) - This involves a system of psychological techniques that retrains the brain to accurately interpret and respond to signals from the body.
• Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) - Exploring feelings and beliefs with compassion to reduce internal tension that often contributes to physical symptoms.
• Mindful awareness and nervous system regulation practices like slow breathing, grounding, or meditation support the body in shifting out of fight-or-flight mode.
• Gradual return to comfortable movement - reintroducing activities slowly and calmly helps retrain the brain to trust the body again.
Healing is possible, and progress is often gradual and gentle. Each person’s journey is unique, and support is available to help you move at a pace that feels safe and manageable.