In-office Counselling for Chronic Pain & Symptoms in Newlands

The Neuroscience of Chronic Pain: Rewiring the Alarm System in the Brain

Living with persistent physical symptoms can make your world feel increasingly small and exhausting. Located in Newlands, this practice provides evidence-based support grounded in modern pain neuroscience.

Using approaches such as Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), Emotional Awareness & Expression Therapy (EAET), and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), we work to actively harness the neuroplasticity of the brain. The goal is to redirect how your nervous system interprets bodily signals to help you regain control over your life and reengage with things that are important and meaningful to you without feeling trapped or held back by chronic pain. These approaches help you work with your pain, reduce pain-related fear and distress and reconnect with valued goals and living.

Conditions Supported:

Chronic pain or sensations that have exceeded the normal healing time (3-6 months), or are not as the result of a structural medical condition such as an active injury, infection or disease:

If you have spent years visiting specialists, trying treatments without success, or being told that your tests are normal while your pain remains very real, feeling exhausted or skeptical is completely understandable. Being medically dismissed or left without answers can leave you feeling deeply misunderstood.

This brain-body approach is a scientifically supported, compassionate alternative when existing medical routes have met with limited success or when symptom management alone does not feel like enough. Having personally navigated chronic pain, I bring both clinical knowledge and deep personal empathy to every session.

If you have an identified structural condition or are currently working with a medical team, this work can complement your existing care by focusing on the neuroplastic components. Even with physical or structural diagnoses, the nervous system can play a key role in modulating and amplifying pain signals. I always emphasize the importance of professional medical support and am happy to collaborate with your healthcare team to ensure a cohesive, well-rounded approach to your recovery.

If you feel that now is the right time, feel free to reach out below:

-Chronic musculoskeletal pain, chronic neck or back pain, repetitive strain injury (RSI), and fibromyalgia

-Tension headaches, migraines, functional gut disorders or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and pelvic pain

-Persistent brain fog, tinnitus and stress-induced physical flare-ups

Practical, Active Interventions for Chronic Pain/Sensations:

Modern pain neuroscience has revolutionized our understanding of persistent physical symptoms. When pain, fatigue, or sensory discomfort lasts beyond normal tissue healing time (usually 3-6 months), the brain's danger alarm system can become overly sensitive, treating normal bodily signals as active threats and generating pain. Your symptoms are entirely real, physical, and valid; they are not "all in your head" or "just stress." However, because the nervous system can learn pain through neuroplastic pathways, it can also unlearn it. Through targeted mind-body interventions, we can actively rewire these neural loops.

If You Have Tried Everything or Feel Dismissed:

We take a thorough pain history and take the time to learn about your pain, triggers and the ways that it impacts your life. Thereafter our sessions focus on practical, useful tools to work with your pain and nervous system. By pairing Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) with Emotional Awareness & Expression Therapy (EAET), we tackle physical symptoms from two angles:

1) retraining how your brain interprets body sensations so they stop triggering alarm bells,

2) safely giving voice to the internal stress or suppressed emotions that can contribute to and maintain pain. It’s an active process where you learn simple somatic tracking techniques and gradual ways to get back to doing the things you love without the constant fear of a flare-up.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I see a counsellor for chronic pain?

Modern pain neuroscience shows that chronic pain is closely tied to an overprotective nervous system, where the brain continues to fire threat signals long after physical tissues have healed. Through evidence-informed approaches, you will learn practical skills to soothe nervous system hypervigilance, turn down the body's internal "danger alarm," and break the cycle where pain causes stress and stress exacerbates pain.

Can counselling help with flare-ups and pain anxiety?

Yes. Pain flare-ups often trigger understandable anxiety, frustration, or fear that the pain will never subside, which in turn causes muscles to tense and stress hormones to rise, amplifying the flare-up. In sessions, we develop personalised flare-up management plans and grounding techniques so you feel equipped to navigate spikes in pain calmly and safely.

Does seeking counselling mean it's "all in my head"?

Not at all. Your pain is 100% real. All pain is processed by the brain and nervous system. When pain persists over time, the nervous system can become overly sensitive, sending alarm signals even when tissues have healed. Counselling doesn't invalidate your physical experience; instead, it works directly with the nervous system to help dial down those threat signals.

What if movement or body awareness feels overwhelming or scary right now?

That is completely normal and very common when living with persistent pain. We work strictly at a gentle, gradual pace that respects your boundaries. You will never be pushed into uncomfortable physical exercises. Instead, we cultivate moments of safety and comfort in the body, helping your nervous system unlearn the association between mild movement and danger.

What if my medical team hasn't found a cure?

When medical interventions reach their limits, counselling focuses on a shift from waiting for a cure to actively reclaiming your quality of life. By addressing fear-avoidance behaviors, managing pacing, reducing pain-related hypervigilance, and calming the central nervous system, counselling can help to manage overall pain intensity and restore a sense of agency and hope.

Will counselling replace my current medical treatment or physical therapy?

No. If you have a condition which requires ongoing medical intervention, then counselling serves as a supportive, complementary pillar alongside your medical care, physiotherapy, or medical specialist team. Care that honours both the physiological and emotional aspects of health yields the best long-term outcomes.

Get in touch

Address

6 Oak Lane, Newlands, Cape Town

Contact

072 093 7205
taracounsels@gmail.com