Counselling for pain

By now you will know me as someone who is passionate about the mind/body connection and how our body can express our psychological needs if they remain unexpressed. I am fascinated by our physical body’s ability to draw our attention to the long forgotten or long buried parts of ourselves through pain or tension and sometimes disease. When the body expresses something physically that is emotional or psychological in origin, we call this a psychosomatic presentation. I always use this word cautiously as many clients make the conclusion that I mean ‘it is in your head’ or ‘you are making this up’ so I always quickly explain! Psychosomatic pain is when your emotional and mental stress begin making you physically sick. “Psychosomatic” explains the relation between mind and body. The pain or tension or illness is very real but it is not being caused by a physical situation such as an injury or virus etc. So, if the physical is being caused by the emotional/mental, then psychotherapy and counselling can help.

I work with a lot of clients experiencing chronic pain, and I have specific experience with chronic muscle tension, migraine and tension headache, irritable and inflammatory gastrointestinal disturbances (IBS, IBD), sexual dysfunction (frigidity, impotence) and chronic skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis etc). Counselling can help alleviate symptoms by addressing the emotional/mental component which is causing or contributing to the pain.  

Counselling for pain and chronic presentations involves us deeply exploring your life as a whole, understanding what experiences, behaviour patterns, traumas, conditioning and beliefs may be contributing to your physical health. By doing so, we are bringing unconscious issues into awareness where they can be processed and integrated, and maybe alleviating the need for headaches, gut troubles, sexual issues or itchy skin. Unmet psychological needs that can present in the body include the need for care, love and attention, the need for safety and security, the need for control.  

If you would like to explore counselling for pain, why not get in touch and we can discuss whether it might be right for you. I offer psychotherapy and counselling in Wimbledon or online wherever you are located, anna@annakinnairdfolkman.com