September 22, 2021

Episode 246 | Resiliency In The Face Of Trauma And Chronic Pain: Using Acceptance And Commitment Therapy In Building A Values-Based Life With Robyn Walser, Ph.D.

41 minutes

The month of September is Pain Awareness Month. In years past, I've done lots of different things for Pain Awareness Month. I've held online summits, which hosted 30 plus experts. I've done courses for professionals and people with pain. In 2021, I was trying to figure out, "What are we not talking about in the chronic pain space that we need to bring more awareness around? What should we be talking about? What can we bring some more disruption around to disrupt our pain care world out there that isn't always as effective for people with chronic pain?"

As I started to reflect on my practice and the patients I've seen over many years I've been treating patients looking at research, I said, "We need to talk more about the link between trauma and chronic pain." This September, I've done a couple of different things to raise awareness around the trauma-pain connection. The first is I've done lots of different posts on my Instagram handle. If you can head on over to Instagram and find me, my handle is easy. It's @DrJoeTatta. You can find me on Instagram. Like and follow me. I have lots of great posts and sliders that are perfect for you if you're a practitioner or someone with chronic pain and you want to learn more about the trauma-pain connection.

The second is I partnered with a physical therapist this September. His name is Dr. Jeremy Fletcher. He is teaching our first Trauma-Informed Pain Care Course. You can find that by going to IntegrativePainScienceInstitute.com. Head on over to the Courses tab and scroll down and you'll find the Trauma-Informed Pain Care course. That's open now and you can register. It's available for CEs as well as CEUs for physical therapists and other licensed health professionals. It's about seven hours long and has lots of great content.

Jeremy is a physical therapy educator. He works for a company called Veterans Recovery Resources, which is a not-for-profit organization, which helps veterans with both their physical well as mental health needs. He is a dad, coach and also a survivor of trauma himself. He is a veteran of the Afghanistan War. He brings lots of professional as well as personal input to this topic. I've learned so much from Jeremy. He and I lectured in 2020 at Combined Sections at the APTA National Conference. I'm going to lecture again in 2021 at the national conference, which is in February. You can meet both of us there if you're around.

Finally, I've reached out and partnered with people like our guest, Dr. Robyn Walser, who is an ACT-trained clinical psychologist. She is one of the world's leading experts in treating trauma and PTSD. She is the Director of TL Psychological and Consultation Services. She is also an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley and works with the National Center for PTSD. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she maintains international training, consulting as well as therapy practice.

Robyn is well-known as an expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, specifically for the treatment of trauma and PTSD. She has co-authored seven books, including a book on Learning ACT. Robyn's work spans traumatic stress, depression, substance use and chronic pain. She has written research articles, chapters and books on these topics. She has been doing ACT training and workshops since 1998.

Robyn is incredible. I've seen her in action at a couple of national conferences through ACBS. I've also read a couple of her books. They're great. Head on over to Amazon and make sure you check out all of her books. Dive into this episode, read the topics that she and I are talking about around chronic pain and trauma, see if it resonates with you and think to yourself, "How much do I understand about trauma, PTSD, adverse childhood experiences and the social-political contextual aspects of trauma?" All these are important factors when it comes to treating people with chronic pain. Let's begin this episode and meet Dr. Robyn Walser.

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