The Mind-Body Connection for Skeptics: What the Research Actually Says About Chronic Pain
If someone told you that therapy could help with your back pain, you'd probably be skeptical. I get it. You're not looking for someone to tell you to "think positive" or "visualize healing." You want to know what actually works and why.
I spent years as an electrical engineer before becoming a therapist. I understand the need for evidence. I like systems that make sense. So when I started learning about chronic pain treatment, I approached it the same way—show me the research, explain the mechanism, and let me decide if it holds up.
Here's what I found: the science behind therapy for chronic pain is more compelling than I expected. And it has nothing to do with ignoring pain or pretending it doesn't exist.
What Does the Research Actually Show?
A 2023 study published in The Journal of Pain evaluated 222 patients with chronic back or neck pain. Even though almost all of them (97.7%) had at least one spinal abnormality on imaging, the researchers found that 88.3% had what's called "primary pain"—meaning there was no clear physical cause for their symptoms.
Read the study here: https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(23)00544-8/fulltext
The pain was real. But the source wasn't damaged tissue. It was the brain's interpretation of signals from the body.
For years, this left patients in a frustrating middle ground. Doctors couldn't find anything wrong, so they'd suggest it was psychological—which felt dismissive. But new research points to something more specific: the brain has learned to generate pain signals even when there's no danger to the body.
This isn't the same as "it's all in your head." It's more like your brain's alarm system got stuck in the on position.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), developed by Alan Gordon, was tested in a randomized controlled trial at the University of Colorado Boulder, published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2021. The results were striking: 66% of participants in the PRT group were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment, compared to only 20% in the placebo group. And those results held at one-year follow-up.
Read the trial here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2784694
That's not a small effect. That's a significant, lasting change in people who had been hurting for an average of nine years.
How Does This Actually Work in the Brain?
Your brain is constantly taking in information from your body—pressure, temperature, movement, tension. It interprets all that data and decides what to send to your conscious awareness. Most of the time, this system works well. You touch something hot, feel pain, and pull your hand back.
But sometimes the system gets miscalibrated. After an injury heals, the brain keeps sending pain signals. Or the brain starts interpreting normal sensations—muscle tension from sitting at your desk, pressure from your commute down I-470—as dangerous when they're not.
This isn't a character flaw or a sign of weakness. It's a learned pattern. Your nervous system got stuck in protection mode, and it's doing what it thinks is helpful. The problem is that the alarm keeps going off when there's no fire.
The good news about learned patterns is that they can be unlearned. The brain is remarkably adaptable. The same neuroplasticity that created the pain pattern can create a new one.
What Does Treatment Actually Involve?
I use a few different approaches depending on what fits each person, but the core idea is the same: help your brain relearn how to interpret signals from your body.
Somatic tracking is a technique where you pay attention to sensations in your body with curiosity instead of fear. This sends your brain new information—that the sensation isn't dangerous, that you're actually safe. Over time, this helps turn down the volume on pain signals.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you work with the different parts of yourself that are involved in the pain experience. There might be a part that's hypervigilant, constantly scanning for danger. A part that's frustrated and exhausted. A part that's afraid the pain will never end. When these parts feel heard and understood, they often relax—and pain decreases as a result.
Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) combines mindfulness practices with techniques specifically designed for chronic pain. It helps reduce how much pain interferes with your daily life, even as the brain is relearning its patterns. (If you want a simple starting point, here’s our page on mindfulness in counseling.)
None of these approaches ask you to ignore your pain or pretend it doesn't exist. The pain is real. We're just working with the system that generates it.
If you're curious whether this approach might help your chronic pain, our Lee's Summit therapists can answer your questions. We offer chronic pain therapy using evidence-based methods like Pain Reprocessing Therapy and IFS. Schedule a free consultation to see if it makes sense for your situation.
What If My Pain Has a Physical Cause?
Not all chronic pain is neuroplastic. Some people have ongoing structural issues. But even when there's a physical component, the brain's interpretation still matters. Two people can have the same herniated disc, and one might be in constant agony while the other barely notices.
I've worked with people who have cerebral palsy, neck injuries, and autoimmune conditions. The goal isn't always to become pain-free. Sometimes it's learning to live with pain instead of in fear of it. That shift alone can be life-changing.
What Does Progress in Therapy for Chronic Pain Look Like?
Progress isn't linear. Some people see quick results, which can actually create problems if they expect every session to feel that way. Setbacks are a normal part of the process.
What we hope for: within a few weeks, people start noticing patterns. They realize their pain gets worse after stressful meetings or better when they're engaged in something enjoyable. This awareness itself is progress.
Over time, the intensity often decreases. Or the pain might stay similar but stop controlling decisions. You can take your kids to Legacy Park or meet friends at Third Street Social without spending the whole time bracing for a flare-up.
Some people do become pain-free—the JAMA Psychiatry study showed that's possible. But I don't promise that outcome. What I can say is that most people who engage with this work feel meaningfully better.
Is This Approach to Chronic Pain Treatment & Management Right for You?
This therapy works best for people who are open to the idea that thoughts and emotions play a role in pain. You don't have to be fully convinced—skepticism is fine. But if you're completely closed to the possibility, we probably won't get very far.
The ideal client has done the medical workup, maybe tried physical therapy or medications, and is still hurting. Someone willing to look at their experience in a new way.
Begin Chronic Pain Therapy in Lee's Summit, MO
You've probably tried a lot already. Maybe you've seen specialists or done rounds of physical therapy. Maybe you've adjusted your life to work around the pain—skipping the Chiefs game because stadium seats hurt, avoiding the drive to Blue Springs because sitting in the car makes everything worse.
You don't have to keep living that way.
At Aspire Counseling, we offer in-person therapy at our Lee's Summit office and online sessions throughout Missouri. I use evidence-based approaches that target the actual mechanisms of chronic pain—not generic talk therapy or vague advice to relax.
Your first step is a free consultation. We'll talk about what you're experiencing and whether this approach makes sense for you. No pressure.
Schedule a consultation or call us at 573-328-2288 to get started.
You don't have to figure it all out before reaching out. We'll take it from there—together.
About Our IFS Therapist
Adam White is one of Aspire Counseling’s IFS-based therapists in Lee’s Summit. You can read more about him here: Adam White.
Before becoming a therapist, Adam worked as an electrical engineer—which gave him a deep appreciation for understanding how systems work. He brings that same analytical approach to helping clients understand chronic pain: what keeps the nervous system stuck in protection mode, and how the brain can learn something different.
Adam draws from evidence-based, mind-body approaches—especially Internal Family Systems (IFS) and chronic-pain-specific strategies used in our chronic pain therapy work. He works with adults in person at our Lee’s Summit office and via online therapy throughout Missouri.
