Counseling for Chronic Pain in Lee’s Summit, MO
Evidence-based therapy for chronic pain in the Kansas City area & throughout Missouri
You’re Dealing with Pain that Won’t Quit….and sometimes the doctor’s can’t even figure out why.
You've been to specialists. You've tried medications, physical therapy, injections. Maybe you've had imaging done—MRIs, X-rays, CT scans—and they keep coming back "unremarkable." Your doctors say there's nothing structurally wrong, or they've treated the original injury and it should be healed by now.
But you're still hurting.
Maybe it's migraines that derail your plans multiple times a month. Or widespread pain that moves around your body and makes every task feel exhausting. Maybe it's back pain that started after an accident years ago but never went away, even though your spine looks fine on imaging. Or chronic pelvic pain, jaw pain, nerve pain that no one can explain.
You've probably heard some version of "just manage your stress" or "try to relax" or worst of all, "maybe it's all in your head." And those words stung—because your pain is real. You're not imagining it. You're not weak or dramatic. You're hurting, and it's affecting everything.
Your Pain is keeping you from living the life you want
Maybe you've stopped going to Worlds of Fun with your kids because you're worried a migraine will hit. Or you've had to call in sick to work again because your fibromyalgia is flaring and you can barely get out of bed. Maybe you're avoiding plans with friends because explaining your pain—again—feels exhausting. Or you're lying awake at night, trying to find a position that doesn't hurt, watching the clock and wondering if you'll ever feel normal again.
The drive down I-470 to your job in Kansas City feels longer when you're in pain. Sitting through your kid's soccer game in Blue Springs becomes an endurance test. Even simple things—like ice skating at Crown Center during the holidays or taking a fall trip to Louisburg Cider Mill—feel impossible when pain calls all the shots.
And here's what makes it even harder: people don't get it. Your partner sees you looking fine and wonders why you're "always tired." Your coworkers don't understand why you're so limited. Your doctor is out of ideas, so you feel dismissed and alone. You've started to wonder if you're going crazy, if this is just your life now, if anyone believes you anymore.
But here's what we want you to know: Your pain is real. And therapy can help.
We Understand Chronic Pain—And We Know How to Help
At Aspire Counseling, our therapists work with people experiencing chronic pain in Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Kansas City, and throughout Missouri. We're not here to tell you to "think positive" or that your pain is imaginary. We're here to help you understand why pain persists—even when medical tests don't show structural problems—and what you can do about it.
Here's what we know about Chronic Pain from both research and clinical experience:
About 80% of chronic pain is neuroplastic, which means it's generated and maintained by the brain's alarm system rather than ongoing tissue damage in your body. When pain continues for months or years after an injury has healed—or when there's no clear injury to begin with—your nervous system has gotten stuck in a pattern of creating pain even when there's no danger.
This doesn't mean you're making it up. It means your brain is genuinely sending pain signals, and you're actually feeling that pain in your body. But the source isn't where you think it is, and the solution isn't more medical procedures.
The solution is helping your nervous system calm down and teaching your brain to interpret signals differently.
And that's exactly what we do. Our therapists use evidence-based approaches specifically designed for chronic pain—approaches backed by research showing they actually reduce pain and improve quality of life. We combine:
We use research-based techniques for chronic pain
We believe that you deserve to get BETTER with therapy. It might not happen overnight. But we use research supported interventions that we know can help including:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) - helps you work with all the conflicting parts of yourself around pain
Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) - teaches your brain to reinterpret body signals as safe rather than dangerous
Mindfulness Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) - reduces how much pain interferes with your life
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for chronic pain - addresses thoughts and behaviors that keep pain stuck
Clinical expertise and experience
True evidence based practice doesn’t take away the “art” of therapy. Your specific therapist’s experience & expertise matter. Our therapists who regularly offer counseling for chronic pain have taken special trainings and worked with other clients. They’re experienced working specifically with chronic pain conditions like migraines, fibromyalgia, back pain, autoimmune-related pain, TMJ, pelvic pain, and more. We understand the fear-pain cycle, how stress amplifies pain, why pain gets worse at night, and how to break patterns that keep you stuck.
YOU matter in therapy
Your preference matter in therapy. Your cultural background, the top priorities that you want to manage pain to be able to attend to and simply what you are comfortable with matter.
You're not a diagnosis. You're a person with a life, values, relationships, and goals that matter. The approach we use with you depends on what makes sense for your specific situation. We don't rush past your experience or ask you to fight yourself. When you can pay attention to pain with curiosity instead of fear—when all parts of you feel heard—healing happens more naturally.
We don't promise overnight miracles. We do promise to listen, to believe you, and to work with you at a pace that respects how hard this has been.
How to get started
We know that reaching out for help can feel overwhelming when you're already exhausted from dealing with pain. That's why we've made starting therapy as straightforward and low-pressure as possible.
Your first step is a free consultation with one of our therapists. You'll talk about:
What kind of pain you're experiencing
What you've already tried
Whether our approach makes sense for your situation
Whether you feel comfortable with this therapist
There's no pressure. Just an honest conversation about whether we might be able to help. If it doesn't feel like a good fit, we'll tell you. If you're not sure yet, that's fine too.
What Happens If You Don't Address Your Pain?
We don't want to use fear tactics—you've probably had enough fear around pain already. But it's worth being honest about what often happens when chronic pain goes unaddressed.
Pain tends to spread and your nervous system becomes more sensitive. When you stay in high alert for months or years, pain that started in one area might begin showing up elsewhere. Migraines become more frequent. Back pain spreads to your neck and shoulders.
Life gets smaller. You stop doing things you love because you're worried about triggering pain. You avoid events, turn down opportunities, stop making plans. These feel like practical adjustments at first. Over time, they become walls that close in on you.
Mental health and relationships suffer together. Chronic pain and depression often occur together. Anxiety increases because you're always waiting for the next flare. Your partner gets frustrated. Your kids stop asking you to play. The isolation makes everything worse, and the fear-pain cycle deepens.
We're saying this because we've seen it happen—and we've also seen what's possible when people address chronic pain through therapy.
What Life Could Look Like When Pain Isn't Calling All the Shots
We can't promise you'll never feel pain again. But we can tell you what our clients experience when therapy works:
Pain might reduce—or it might not bother you as much. Some people's pain decreases significantly or goes away completely. For others, the pain level stays similar but it stops controlling their life. Both are meaningful changes. You might still feel discomfort in your back, but you're no longer afraid of it. Or you might have a migraine, but you don't spiral into panic about when the next one will hit.
You do things you'd stopped doing. You go to your daughter's volleyball games at Blue Springs South High School without worrying your back will seize up. You take that fall trip to Louisburg Cider Mill you've been putting off. You make plans to go to a Chiefs game at Arrowhead without the constant "what if my pain is bad that day" anxiety. You drive to work down I-470 without your whole focus being on how much you hurt.
You sleep through the night. Even if you're aware of some discomfort, you're not lying awake catastrophizing or trying to find the one position that doesn't hurt. Your nervous system has calmed down enough that sleep is possible.
People stop saying "but you look fine." Because you're more present, more engaged, more like yourself. The constant underlying current of pain and fear isn't taking up all your mental energy anymore.
You have room in your brain for things other than pain. You can focus at work. You can be present with your kids. You can plan a weekend trip to Kansas City's Crossroads District or a day at Powell Gardens without pain being the main character in every decision.
You know how to handle setbacks. Because yes, bad pain days still happen. But when they do, you don't panic and think you're back at square one. You have skills for responding to pain differently. You understand what's happening in your nervous system. And you know the bad day will pass.
This isn't about pretending pain doesn't exist. It's about pain no longer being the thing that decides what you can and can't do with your life.
Begin Counseling to Manage & Reduce Chronic Pain
If pain is interfering with your life, you don't have to figure this out alone. Starting therapy at Aspire Counseling is straightforward.
1.
Contact Aspire Counseling
First, you’ll speak to a member of our Client Care team. Please let them know any preferences you have for a new therapist. Make sure to share that chronic pain is an issue so they can set you up with the best fit therapist.
2.
Meet with Your New Therapist
We'll consider a variety of factors when assigning you a therapist but want you to have the opportunity to meet & ask questions before you commit to regular sessions.
3.
Help for Your Pain
You’ll meet regularly (weekly for the first 8 weeks generally). Your therapist will check in regularly with you to see how you’re doing. They will combine research backed techniques with making sure YOUR needs are met.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chronic Pain Therapy in Lee’s Summit
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Yes. Research shows that for chronic pain—especially pain that persists after an injury has healed or pain without clear structural causes—therapy can be as effective or more effective than medical interventions. This isn't about "mind over matter" or positive thinking. It's about understanding that pain is an output of the brain, and the brain can learn new patterns.
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We work with people experiencing migraines and chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, chronic back and neck pain, autoimmune-related pain (like arthritis or lupus), TMJ and jaw pain, pelvic pain, nerve pain (neuropathy), Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), and any chronic pain without clear medical explanation. If you've been told "we can't find anything wrong" but you're still hurting, therapy can likely help.
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Absolutely not. Your pain is real. You're feeling it in your body. What we explain is that pain is generated by the brain as a protective alarm—and sometimes that alarm gets stuck on even when there's no longer danger. This isn't the same as pain being imaginary. It's recognizing that the brain has learned to create pain, which means the brain can also learn something different.
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No. We are not experts on medications: your doctor is. So, decisions about medicine are between you and your doctor. And most people with serious pain benefit from working closely with their specialists AND a therapist.
Medication can help manage severe flares while therapy works to reduce the frequency and intensity of those flares over time. Therapy and medical care often work best together.
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It varies. Some people notice changes within the first few weeks—usually a reduction in fear about pain or an awareness that pain fluctuates based on their emotional state. Most people work with us for 2-6 months. More complex conditions like fibromyalgia or longstanding pain might take 6-12 months to see sustained improvement. Progress is rarely linear—there will be setbacks even when therapy is working.
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Yes. We provide online therapy for chronic pain throughout Missouri. Online sessions work just as well as in-person for chronic pain treatment because the work is skill-based and educational. Many clients actually prefer online therapy because it removes the barrier of having to get to an office.
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At this time, it is only our fully licensed clinicians offering this specialty. Therefore, the cost is usually $120-$175 per 45 minute session. We’re private pay, so we don’t work directly with insurance companies. However, we use a billing system called Thrizer that works hard to help most of our clients get reimbursed a significant portion through using their insurance plan’s out-of-network benefits.
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Yes. The length of time you've had pain doesn't determine whether therapy can help. In fact, long-term pain often indicates a significant neuroplastic component—your nervous system has learned these pain patterns over time, which means it can also learn new patterns. Change is possible even if you've been hurting for years or decades.
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Coping skills can be helpful, but our goal isn't just to help you tolerate pain better. We're working to change the underlying nervous system patterns that generate and maintain pain. For many of our clients, pain actually reduces or resolves—not just becomes more bearable. That said, even when pain doesn't completely go away, learning to respond to it differently means it stops controlling your life, which is more than just "coping."
Your Child Can Feel Better—Let's Start Today
Pain doesn't have to define your story. With evidence-based therapy, supportive guidance, and practical skills, you can get your life back.
At Aspire Counseling in Lee’s Summit, MO, we've helped others find relief. We'd be honored to be part of your story as well.
Contact us today to begin counseling for Chronic Pain. Brighter days are ahead—and we're here to help you reach them.
Other Missouri Mental Health Services at Aspire Counseling
The therapists at Aspire Counseling are able to provide other types of support as well. We know you are more than just your OCD. Sometimes, you or a family member may have other mental health concerns as well. And that’s ok. We are often able to support clients or families in more than one way. Other mental health services we provide include trauma therapy (including EMDR), anxiety treatment, teen counseling, child therapy (particularly child trauma therapy), OCD Treatment (called Exposure & Response Prevention) dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) & grief counseling. You deserve healing and we’d love to help, so reach out and let’s see if one of our Mid-Missouri therapists at Aspire Counseling is a good fit. Our team is LGBTQ+ affirming & anti-racist. You deserve to feel supported and to find the tools to face everything life is throwing at you. When you’re ready, our therapists are here to help. Our therapists offer in person counseling in Columbia, MO or Lee’s Summit, MO but frequently see clients virtually who live throughout Missouri.