Dr. Robin Pfaff was in the closet about her fibromyalgia, working part-time as a psychotherapist and part-time recovering from the toll that work took on her. A big move in January 2017 caused a severe fibromyalgia flare that put her on the couch for months. It was here that she found coaching and the keys to getting her life back. Robin is now paying it forward as a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach, helping other women take charge of their life and health.

Key Points

• Fibromyalgia coaching is a unique treatment option: one part life coach, one part health educator, and one part wellness coaching.
• The difference between counseling and coaching, and how to know which one is right for you.
• Research has found that a huge group of folks that have experienced post traumatic stress move forward through that and experience what they call post traumatic growth.
• The BEST approach to living with fibromyalgia: B for Body (or physical health), E for Emotional and mental health, S for Social Support, and T for Transcendence (or spiritual well-being).
• You don't know what you don't know, and having someone to come alongside you, keep you encouraged, share the workload, and offer a different perspective and new ideas can really shortcut that process and help you feel better, faster.

About Dr. Robin Pfaff

Robin has a doctoral degree in counseling and a master's degree in human development. She has worked as a psychotherapist for over 25 years specializing in women's issues. As you will hear in the episode, Robin has fibromyalgia herself. 

Robin is trained and certified as a Health and Wellness Coach and as a Fibromyalgia Coach. Since she has fibromyalgia, she understands the frustration of living with a chronic illness and trying to keep up with a job, family, friends, pets, grandkids — all the activities that you enjoy. Robin is determined to be as healthy as she can be while managing fibromyalgia, so that she can be present for her own life as a coach, a wife, a mother and a grandmother. She's delighted to have the opportunity to help you believe in yourself again and take charge of your life and health, so that you can feel better and show up for your own precious life.

Links & Resources

• FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital companion to this audio magazine, where you can find full show notes, links to the studies referenced in this episode, submit your questions for Tami Stackelhouse, and schedule a free consultation with a Fibromyalgia Coach.
• Get a free copy of Tami’s book, Take Back Your Life: Find Hope and Freedom From Fibromyalgia Symptoms and Pain at FibromyalgiaPodcast.com/books.
• Find out how you can *flourish with fibromyalgia* by visiting Dr. Robin Pfaff’s website here. 
• To request Dr. Robin’s self-assessment tool — which allows you to pinpoint where you could use some help, what areas of your life to focus on, and where your strengths are — send an email to [email protected] with the subject line, “BEST Self Assessment”.

Research Studies

• To learn about the Adverse Childhood Experiences study (ACE study), visit https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html.
• Note: Additional studies on post traumatic growth can be found by visiting Google Scholar.