Pain is Inevitable — Here’s Why Suffering is Optional

A “biopychosocial” approach to chronic pain is better than mere medicine

/Whale Design

“I’m leaving,” my counselor told me during one of our last Zoom sessions.

Damn! I thought. What am I going to do now?

Over the previous year or so my therapist, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), had gotten to know me better than anyone ever has. I shared my innermost thoughts, feelings, and secrets with him in the hope of achieving greater “peace of mind,” the goal I gave him.

We had worked hard doing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is basically talking through feelings so that the insights gained affect how you think and act.

We particularly concentrated on easing my chronic pain, which is caused by a rare genetic disease that caused my bones and joints to deform. I’ve had eight joint replacements (both hips twice, both knees, both shoulders).

I met that counselor through a medical practice specializing in treating pain (which I refer to in this article as a “pain practice”) that prescribes the fentanyl patches I use to keep my hurt at bay. He was on staff, and, therefore, took my insurance. My co-pay was $35 per session, a bargain price to see a mental health professional.