Chronic Pain Therapists in 79915
Amistad
Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC
Verified Verified
El Paso, TX 79915
While everyone’s circumstances are unique, individuals often seek therapy when they are feeling overwhelmed by certain stressors in their lives, they are feeling stuck in a difficult situation or relationship, or they have trouble fully enjoying the present because of pain from the past or worry about the future.
Amistad offers the professional therapy services free of charge to veterans, dependents, and surviving spouses and others in their support system. The clinician utilizes evidence-based treatment practices in a private and confidential settings. Access to mental health services for veterans is essential in order to help them recover from their combat experiences and address mental health issues that may be related to their military service. Amistad understands the importance of increasing access to needed services to those who have served regardless of when they served, their time in service, or their discharge status.
While everyone’s circumstances are unique, individuals often seek therapy when they are feeling overwhelmed by certain stressors in their lives, they are feeling stuck in a difficult situation or relationship, or they have trouble fully enjoying the present because of pain from the past or worry about the future.
Amistad offers the professional therapy services free of charge to veterans, dependents, and surviving spouses and others in their support system. The clinician utilizes evidence-based treatment practices in a private and confidential settings. Access to mental health services for veterans is essential in order to help them recover from their combat experiences and address mental health issues that may be related to their military service. Amistad understands the importance of increasing access to needed services to those who have served regardless of when they served, their time in service, or their discharge status.
Alejandra Isabel Spector
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, MSSW, LMSW
Verified Verified
El Paso, TX 79915 (Online Only)
Therapy is a partnership, and we will work collaboratively to achieve your goals. I believe in providing a compassionate and nonjudgmental space for you to process and grow. Everyone’s needs are different therefore I take a highly individualized approach when working with you. My background as a community organizer has also taught me that community care is self-care, and that social justice work is also healing work. Systemic oppression impacts our lives in many ways, and I invite you to unpack those issues in our sessions. Note: My practice is currently 100% virtual.
Therapy is a partnership, and we will work collaboratively to achieve your goals. I believe in providing a compassionate and nonjudgmental space for you to process and grow. Everyone’s needs are different therefore I take a highly individualized approach when working with you. My background as a community organizer has also taught me that community care is self-care, and that social justice work is also healing work. Systemic oppression impacts our lives in many ways, and I invite you to unpack those issues in our sessions. Note: My practice is currently 100% virtual.
Rachel Sebastian
Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, MEd, LPC-A
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
El Paso, TX 79915
Welcome! I am a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, supervised by Franchesca Fraire, LPC-S. I enjoy helping people navigate difficult life circumstances and the undesired emotional effects that accompany them. I have experience working with individuals with trauma, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder as well as with couples looking to heal from infidelity or simply improve their relationship.
Welcome! I am a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, supervised by Franchesca Fraire, LPC-S. I enjoy helping people navigate difficult life circumstances and the undesired emotional effects that accompany them. I have experience working with individuals with trauma, depression, anxiety, and panic disorder as well as with couples looking to heal from infidelity or simply improve their relationship.
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Chronic Pain Therapists
How does chronic pain therapy work?
Engaging with a psychotherapist to help treat chronic pain does not mean that one’s pain is all in their head. Therapy for chronic-pain patients has been shown to benefit both the mind and the body, targeting physical symptoms and increasing daily functioning. In other words, for many, addressing their emotional health through therapy affects their physical health. A therapist can help a client challenge unhelpful thoughts about pain and develop new ways to respond to it, such as distraction or calming breathing techniques. Studies have found that therapy can be as effective as surgery for certain cases of chronic pain and many doctors recommend trying psychotherapy in advance of considering invasive surgery.
What are the most effective treatment options for chronic pain?
Stress, anxiety, depression, catastrophizing, ruminating, lack of activity, and social withdrawal all make chronic pain worse. Addressing these issues, research shows, can help people gain control over their pain symptoms. Therapeutic approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback, and mindfulness-based stress reduction, along with greater pain-management education, have been found to help people reduce fear and disability.
Are there new treatments for chronic pain?
Many cases of chronic pain, particularly those involving back pain, remain medically unexplained. But there is evidence that changes in the brain or nervous system are caused by previous physical ailments such as tissue damage; in such cases, the brain may continue to send out pain signals despite the physical cause having healed. To aid patients under these circumstances, a recently developed treatment known as pain reprocessing therapy (PRT) is designed to help the brain “unlearn” this response. A PRT practitioner helps individuals to reduce the “threat value” of their ongoing pain signals until they can reappraise them as less threatening and fear-inducing. They also help an individual to develop new emotional regulation skills.
How long does therapy for chronic pain take?
There is no set timeline for recovery from chronic pain, especially as there may be a range of physical and psychological causes for any individual’s discomfort, but most patients should expect to see a therapist for a number of weeks or months, typically spanning at least 12 sessions. Studies of pain reprocessing therapy found that many individuals’ experience of pain lessened in eight sessions over four weeks.