The Chronic Pain Method

23/12/2025

The system is underperforming not because clinicians don't care, but because they're not equipped or supported to work with the bigger picture.
When a patient isn't progressing, the reflex is to "clench down and get anxious and then start to reach into your toolbox to find the next tool to try on somebody."

Sound familiar?

This is a quote from Psychologist Trevor Crowe from our latest roundtable, and it perfectly captures the pressure clinicians are under. But this tool-based approach, focused on "fixing what's wrong," often misses the most important factor: the patient's own agency.

What if we shifted our focus from "what's wrong" to "what's strong"? What if we saw our role not as the owner of recovery, but as a member of a support team led by the patient?

It's a radical idea, but it's one that's changing outcomes.

Watch the full snippet to hear Trevor break down why the old model is failing and what it truly means to be part of a patient-led recovery team.
Watch the snippet
https://vimeo.com/1142999354?fl=ip&fe=ec

Who Owns the Recovery Process? When a patient is bouncing between different practitioners—physio, psychologist, GP, pain specialist—who actually owns…

22/12/2025

Many clinicians have watched patients move between multiple providers - usually an allied health physio, psychology, medical, exercise and still not move forward.

Everyone involved is skilled.
Everyone is well intentioned.
And yet the experience feels fragmented.

This was a key theme in our recent Clinical Roundtable.

One of the clearest distinctions we explored was the difference between multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary care.

They’re often used interchangeably.
We say they're not the same.

Multidisciplinary care brings many experts together - ❗BUT without shared goals, shared language, or a unified plan, patients are left trying to connect the dots themselves.

✔️Interdisciplinary care shifts that responsibility off the patient and back onto the team.

This snippet unpacks why that distinction matters and offers two simple questions clinicians can use when progress stalls.
👉 Watch the snippet

Multidisciplinary vs Interdisciplinary care: Why it matters Many clinicians use the terms "multidisciplinary" and "interdisciplinary" interchangeably.…

19/12/2025

There’s a moment many clinicians recognise
you’re doing everything “right”, yet progress stalls.

More exercises don’t help.
Clearer explanations don’t land.
And the patient seems to pull away.

In our Clinical Roundtable, Faraz named a core issue we don’t talk about enough:
❗“We don’t know what we don’t know - especially when we’re working in isolation.”
Dr Trevor Crow added a question that changes the direction of a consult:
❓What’s your theory of change here?

If we’re only working from a “something to fix” mindset, we often miss what’s happening relationally.

What gets labelled as “resistance” is often data … data about safety, fear, readiness, or overwhelm.

And when a patient voice is ignored?
➡️Trust erodes.
➡️Engagement drops.
➡️People leave.

Watch this snippet from the roundtable - where we explore what to do before reaching for the next technique and offer a simple readiness check you can use straight away.

When Doing Everything Right Still Isn't Enough You've done everything by the book. You've used evidence-based techniques. But the patient still isn't…

10/11/2025

If we want better outcomes for people who live with chronic pain, we need to start looking in the right place.

The RACGP report published in September confirmed what so many of us already know - the system isn’t working.

But the question we should be asking isn’t “What more can GPs do?”

It’s “Why aren’t we equipping Allied Health to do what they have the capacity for?”
Physiotherapists, counsellors, and other Allied Health professionals already have the scope, time, and connection to deliver the kind of care people with chronic pain say they want: care that is empathetic, collaborative, and evidence-informed.

That’s exactly what The Chronic Pain Method is built to support:
✅ Interdisciplinary teamwork
✅ Communication and reasoning frameworks
✅ Supervision that strengthens confidence and clarity

We don’t need to rebuild the system, we need to restructure who it empowers.

👉 Read our take: The System Isn’t Broken — It Was Never Built for Chronic Pain.
https://thechronicpainmethod.com.au/the-system-isnt-broken-it-was-never-built-for-chronic-pain-care/

07/11/2025

When Chronic Pain Australia shared the RACGP report published in September, it confirmed what we already know - people who suffer from chronic pain want empathy, communication, validation, and genuine collaboration from their GPs.

But most of those needs are still unmet.
And it raises an important question: how can any GP possibly meet all those expectations in a 10–15 minute appointment?

Many of the needs outlined in the report align closely with what The Chronic Pain Method teaches:
🗣 Communication - connecting through language that builds trust and engagement.
🧠 Clinical reasoning - challenging thinking with structured subjective and objective questioning.
🤝 Supervision and peer review - reflecting, collaborating, and growing without working in isolation.

The report highlights a gap but also a huge opportunity.
Because Allied Health is where many of these needs can finally be met.
That’s exactly what The Chronic Pain Method was built for.

👉 Read the blog: The System Isn’t Broken It Was Never Built for Chronic Pain.
https://thechronicpainmethod.com.au/the-system-isnt-broken-it-was-never-built-for-chronic-pain-care/

06/11/2025

When Chronic Pain Australia shared the RACGP report published in September, it confirmed what people who suffer from chronic pain need from their GPs - empathy, validation, communication, and time.

But it made us stop and wonder… How can GPs possibly meet all those needs?
We’re asking general practitioners to be prescribers, coordinators, counsellors, and case managers all within a 10–15 minute consult.

Almost impossible.

But what if the answer isn’t more pressure on general practice…
but more power to Allied Health?

Allied health clinicians already have the skillset, time, and connection to bridge the gaps this report highlights.
They have the scope to do what the system can’t - integrate communication, emotional care, and collaboration into everyday practice.

That’s what The Chronic Pain Method was built for: a framework that helps clinicians deliver the kind of care this report calls for, structured, compassionate, and evidence-informed.

👉 Read the blog: The System Isn’t Broken — It Was Never Built for Chronic Pain. https://thechronicpainmethod.com.au/the-system-isnt-broken-it-was-never-built-for-chronic-pain-care/

01/10/2025

Corey’s story will feel familiar to many clinicians. He runs a busy practice, his diary is full, and he is a dedicated clinician, father, and leader. But when his patients’ chronic pain tips into emotion, he feels isolated.

He knows what happens when he tries to “do the right thing” and refers to a psychologist. The loop closes. He’s cut out of the conversation. Sometimes the advice even undermines his role and the patient is lost to his practice.

This isn’t about technique. It’s about emotion. And most clinicians haven’t been trained for that. So who do you turn to?

For too many, this is the quiet reality: carrying cases alone, knowing patients need more, but stuck without a safe way to share the load.

The Chronic Pain Method was created to change this. True interdisciplinary care means one team, one plan, one language ….so clinicians aren’t left guessing, and patients aren’t left unsupported.

30/09/2025

Ella lived with fibromyalgia and chronic pain for years, often feeling dismissed or told her symptoms were not real. Each appointment that ended without validation left her more isolated and unsure if genuine support was even possible.

That changed when she began working with a team who listened differently. With her physiotherapist and psychotherapist collaborating, Ella finally felt heard, supported and safe enough to explore her health and mindset. She describes feeling empowered to understand her body in a new way, rather than left to manage pain alone.

This is the difference that comes when clinicians are equipped to work together, to believe the patient from the beginning, and to build care around connection rather than dismissal. The Chronic Pain Method is changing the game so that more clinicians can provide this kind of care.

👉 Membership is open now: https://thechronicpainmethod.com.au/the-chronic-pain-method-foundation/

29/09/2025

Before CPM, Mike described his pain as debilitating.

It made him feel like a smaller version of himself.

Now? He is back to hiking, camping, and spending weekends outdoors.

He says he has moved from “a life of fear, pain and limitation” to “a life of hope, adventure and fun.”

The biggest change was not just physical. It was how he saw his body.

“I saw my body before as a restriction. Now I see it as an enabler.”

This is what happens when treatment is not just mechanical, but honours the nervous system, the mind, and the lived experience of pain.

The Foundation Membership was built to help clinicians deliver this kind of care. Join the membership today

👉 https://thechronicpainmethod.com.au/the-chronic-pain-method-foundation/

26/09/2025

Amie is one of the bravest people we know. Living with chronic pain, she has faced the invisible fight that so many people carry every single day. It takes courage to share this story and even more courage to keep living it.

When she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, she felt two things at once: relief that someone finally validated her pain, and devastation at being told her life would be nothing but pain from that point on.

For too many people who suffer from chronic pain, this is the reality: a diagnosis that validates, but a prognosis that closes doors instead of opening them.

At The Chronic Pain Method, we work differently. We give clinicians the communication skills and education to look beyond the label and create pathways that help patients move forward.

Amie is one of our educators at The Chronic Pain Method. She brings her invaluable lived experience of chronic pain into our training and now also works as a pain coach and author.

23/09/2025

We hear this story from so many clinicians.

You are the one everyone turns to for the complex pain cases. Your diary is packed. Your reputation is solid.

But you are working in isolation. No interdisciplinary collaboration. No shared reflection. Every difficult decision rests on your shoulders.

This is what we call the Big Fish in a Small Pond Syndrome. It holds patients back and it stalls your career.

The answer is not another course. It is a system of peer reflection, collaboration, and team-based care. That is what the Foundation Membership was built for. https://link.tekmatix.com/sp/d8dc6bba15f

Discover how the Big Fish Small Pond syndrome affects allied health professionals in chronic pain treatment. Learn evidence-based strategies for breaking professional isolation and improving patient outcomes through interdisciplinary collaboration.

22/09/2025

The research is clear. Traditional MSK approaches often fall short for people who suffer from chronic pain.

But it is not about working harder. It is about working differently.

Chronic pain needs an approach that goes beyond technique. Communication. Reflection. Interdisciplinary collaboration.

That is what we built into the Foundation Membership. Join the waitlist today and start practicing differently.