Chronic Pain Recovery Group in Richmond, VA
8-week virtual session starting April 3rd, 2026
You’ve Tried to “Fix” the Pain… But You’re Still Stuck
You’ve done PT, doctors, exercises and your pain still won’t fully go away. Scans or tests don’t explain how bad it feels. You’re constantly monitoring your body, bracing, or avoiding activities. You feel frustrated, discouraged, or scared your body is damaged. Stress or emotions are sometimes linked to symptoms, but no one has helped you with that part. You’re exhausted from managing this mostly on your own.
You’re not broken, but your nervous system may be stuck in protection mode, and this recovery group can give you the tools needed to change that.
An 8-week chronic pain recovery group to put you back in the driver’s seat
Eight weeks can’t erase everything you’ve been through, but it can be enough time to start shifting the pattern. Over the course of this group, you’ll learn about pain neuroscience, understand what your nervous system has been trying to do, and build practical skills that help your brain and body feel safer.
We base this group in Pain Reprocessing Therapy and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy, which are treatments grounded in modern pain neuroscience and the understanding that the brain and nervous system play a central role in ongoing pain. These approaches are designed to help people reduce fear, shift the way the brain interprets signals from the body, and process emotions that can keep the nervous system in a heightened protective state, all of which can lead to real, measurable decreases in chronic pain.
Group Details
Why a group format?
Pain is isolating. And isolation keeps the nervous system on guard. In a group, you’re not just learning information; your brain is having a new experience. When you see other people with similar symptoms begin to move more freely, fear less, and respond differently to pain, your own nervous system starts to register more safety. That shared progress can soften the pain danger connection in a way that’s harder to do alone.
Healing pain pathways is about retraining a system that learned to protect you. Group creates a space where your brain can start to learn safety again, together, not alone.
What will we actually do?
In This Group, You’ll Learn How To:
✔ Understand why pain can persist even after tissues have healed
✔ Reduce fear around symptoms (a major pain amplifier)
✔ Calm nervous system overprotection
✔ Respond to flare-ups differently
✔ Process emotions that can fuel physical symptoms
✔ Feel less alone in what you’re going through
✔ Build confidence in your body again
We combine brain-based pain recovery tools with guided emotional processing in a supportive, skills-focused environment.
Healing pain pathways is about retraining a system that learned to protect you. Group creates a space where your brain can start to learn safety again, together, not alone.
This Group May Be a Good Fit If:
You’ve had pain for months or years and feel stuck, even after trying medical or physical treatments
Tests or scans don’t fully explain your symptoms, or the findings don’t match how intense it feels
Your pain or symptoms move around/switch sides of the body, flare with stress, or don’t follow a clear injury pattern
You notice yourself constantly monitoring your body, bracing, or worrying about making things worse
You’ve been told things like “chronic,” “functional,” “central sensitization,” or “there’s nothing more we can do”
You suspect stress, emotions, or life experiences affect your symptoms, but you’ve never been shown how to work with that safely
You want practical tools and a clear framework, not just open-ended talking
You’re open to the idea that the brain and nervous system can keep pain going, even when the pain is very real
You like the idea of learning alongside others who truly understand what this is like
This Group May Not Be the Best Fit If:
You have new or persistent symptoms that have not been medically assessed.
You are looking for hands-on medical or physical treatment rather than a brain and nervous system–based approach
You strongly believe your pain can only improve through structural or medical procedures
You are in an active medical or mental health crisis that needs stabilization first
You prefer fully individualized treatment rather than a group learning environment
You are not open to exploring how stress, emotions, and the nervous system can influence physical symptoms
You are seeking immediate pain elimination rather than gradual nervous system retraining
If this doesn’t feel like the right step, that’s okay. The goal is helping you find the kind of care that truly matches where you are.
What are Pain Reprocessing Therapy and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy?
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is a neuroscience-based approach for chronic and neuroplastic symptoms. It works from the understanding that when the brain learns to interpret certain signals as dangerous, it can continue producing very real pain or physical symptoms even after tissues have healed or when no clear medical cause is found.
PRT helps retrain the brain’s danger alarm system. Instead of trying to “push through” or fight symptoms, we gently shift how you relate to sensations, fear, and attention. Through education about how pain works, somatic awareness, and new experiences of safety in the body, the brain can relearn that these sensations are not a threat, which often leads to reduced symptoms and less fear around them.
Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET)
Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy focuses on the connection between stress, emotions, life experiences, and physical symptoms or pain. Research shows that the nervous system can stay in a heightened state of threat when emotions like anger, grief, guilt, or fear have been suppressed, minimized, or never fully processed.
EAET helps you safely access, understand, and express emotions that may have been pushed aside in order to cope or function. This isn’t about venting, it’s about helping your nervous system process unresolved emotional experiences so it no longer has to carry them through the body.
This work can reduce pain, improve emotional clarity, and help you feel more authentic, empowered, and connected in your life and relationships.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Your pain is real.
This approach recognizes that pain can continue because the nervous system stays in protection mode even after an injury has healed or when tests don’t show a clear cause. We work with the brain–body connection to help the system feel safer, which can reduce symptoms.
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You can always transition to individual therapy after the group is completed for more individualized work.
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Group therapy offers:
Shared learning and normalization
Real-time practice of new skills
Less isolation around your experience
A structured format that focuses on tools, not just talking
Many people find it powerful to see others make similar shifts.
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No one is forced to share more than they want. We do explore how emotions and life stress can affect the body, but always at your pace and in a way that feels manageable and safe. Participation is encouraged, not pressured.
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Sessions usually include:
Learning about pain and the nervous system
Guided exercises to change how you respond to symptoms
Emotional awareness and expression practices
Discussion and reflection
Practical tools to use between sessions
It’s active and skills-focused, not just storytelling.
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We move gradually and focus on helping your system feel safer, not overwhelmed. Some exercises may feel new or uncomfortable at first, but the goal is to reduce fear and reactivity, not push through pain. If you’re having trouble with group, please let your facilitator know.
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This group is a good fit for people who:
Have persistent pain or symptoms that haven’t fully responded to medical care
Notice stress or emotions affect their body
Are open to a brain- and nervous system–based approach
Want tools and structure
Are willing to try responding to symptoms in new ways