Vanessa M. Blackstone and Olivia S. Sinaiko, LPC, authors of The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook, join us to talk about how we can use the brain’s neuroplasticity to break the cycle of chronic pain.  

Vanessa, citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Nation, is executive director of the Pain Psychology Center. She earned her MS in social work from the University of Southern California. Following her own personal recovery from chronic pain, Vanessa began her career as a therapist in 2018. She was one of the first clinical consultants at the Pain Reprocessing Therapy Center, and has helped train hundreds of practitioners in pain reprocessing therapy (PRT). In addition to chronic pain treatment, she specializes in sex therapy, substance use and recovery, mindfulness-based relapse prevention, and works on film sets as an onset wellness professional. Outside of her professional roles, Vanessa is a former foster youth who advocates for current and former foster youth by sharing her personal experiences in public speaking events. She lives in Los Angeles, CA. 

Olivia leads the behavioral health pain program at the tribal health organization, Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). She has been a featured presenter in the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s (ASAM) training modules on nonpharmacological approaches to pain treatment and interdisciplinary care in the treatment of chronic pain, and has presented to the Pain Psychology Center on the relationship between attachment trauma and chronic pain. She earned her BA from Stanford University and her MA in counseling psychology from The Wright Institute, as well as a JD from Yale Law School. She lives in Juneau, AK. 

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