Chronic Pain Group Meetings

UW Health health psychologists offer the following groups for people with chronic pain:

Learn about our group leader:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Living Well Beyond Your Pain

 

In a safe, supportive and experiential environment, group members will learn how to:

  • Clarify what you value and how you want to live your life
  • Stop your thoughts around your pain condition from holding you back
  • Develop skills to keep pain in perspective
  • Commit to meaningful action that leads to richer, more fulfilling experiences
  • Foster acceptance to gain a sense of peace

Details:

  • Dates: Call (608) 890-6464 to be placed on the mailing list for the next group session.
  • Cost: Be sure to check your health insurance policy to see if the cost of the support group is covered.
  • Location: Arboretum Clinic, 1102 S. Park St., 3rd Floor, Madison.
  • Registration: To sign up for the group, please contact Michele Johnson at (608) 890-6464.

Headache Management and Coping Group

 

In a safe and supportive environment, group members can learn to develop strategies and skills that are beneficial for coping with the challenges of headache pain.

 

Details:

  • Dates: Thursdays, 3-4:30pm. March 14 and 21, April 4 and 11.
  • Location: Pain Management Clinic, 1102 S. Park St., Madison.
  • Cost: Be sure to check your health insurance policy to see if the cost of the support group is covered.
  • Registration: To register for the group, please contact Michele Johnson at (608) 890-6464.

Lifestyle Skills for Chronic Pain

 

This five-part series presents skills and interventions helpful in managing a chronic pain problem:

  1. Understanding the Mechanisms of Chronic Pain: This session will provide health education on distinguishing between the types of pain and how it operates in your system.
  2. Setting Effective Goals for Pain Rehabilitation: This session will coach you in creating effective goals, so that you can measure your progress in your pain rehabilitation. Well-defined goals can help you effectively communicate with your physician about your treatment plan.
  3. Fundamentals of Activity Pacing: This session will give you the tools to change habits that get in the way of keeping up with your day-to-day activities. You will learn a strategy on how to get tasks done more effectively.
  4. Radical Acceptance - A Method of Redesigning Your Life: This session will provide you with a pathway to better accept living with a chronic pain condition.
  5. Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy: This session will introduce a mindfulness approach to managing your chronic pain. Learning how to be present as a method of identifying tension or problematic thoughts associated with a pain problem has been proven to improve coping with chronic pain.

Details:

  • Morning Group Sessions: Wednesdays, 10am-noon: July 25; October 17, 24 and 31; November 7 and 14.
  • Afternoon Group Sessions: Wednesdays, 3-5pm: September 12, 19 and 26; October 3 and 10.
  • Sessions can be taken in any order.
  • Location: Arboretum Clinic, 3rd Floor, Madison.
  • Registration: To register for the group, please contact Michele Johnson at (608) 890-6464.

Mind Body Medicine Group

 

In a safe and supportive environment, this eight-week group teaches skills to manage stress and physical symptoms associated with illness, pain or stress-related medical conditions. By understanding the mind-body connection, group members will learn how to gain greater control of their health and to improve their well-being.

 

Goals for the group include:

  • Understand the stress-symptom cycle
  • Learn and incorporate a variety of relaxation techniques into daily life
  • Strengthen motivation to implement healthy lifestyle practices
  • Identify and change unhelpful thinking patterns
  • Improve communication in relationships
  • Foster social support networks

This group would benefit anyone who:

  • Is interested in improving their health and reducing stress
  • Has medical problems triggered by or complicated by stress
  • Is interested in developing mind-body skills to complement their medical treatment

Details

  • Dates: Tuesdays, 12:30-1:30pm. January 15, 22 and 29; February 12, 19 and 26; March 12 and 19. Note: No sessions February 5 and March 5.
  • Location: Research Park Clinic, Room 1111B, 621 Science Dr., Madison.
  • Group Leaders: Shilagh Mirgain, PhD, and Janice Singles, PsyD.
  • Cost: Be sure to check your health insurance policy to see if the cost of the support group is covered.
  • Information: To register for the group, please contact Michele Johnson at (608) 890-6464.

 

Group participants talk about how the group helped them development pain management skills.

Pain Management and Coping Group

 

In a safe and supportive environment, group members can learn to develop strategies and skills that are beneficial for coping with the challenges of chronic pain. A variety of topics will be addressed including:

  • Relaxation skills
  • Theories of pain
  • Stress management
  • Dealing with difficult emotions
  • Making healthy adjustments to health changes
  • Developing adaptive thinking patterns
  • Addressing relationship changes
  • Improving quality of life

Details:

  • Dates: Mondays, 1-2:45pm. January 7, 14 and 28; February 4, 11 and 18. Note: No session January 21.
  • Cost: Be sure to check your health insurance policy to see if the cost of the support group is covered.
  • Location: Research Park Clinic, 621 Science Dr, Madison.
  • Leaders: Shilagh Mirgain, PhD, and Janice Singles, PsyD
  • Registration: To sign up for the group, please contact Michele Johnson at (608) 890-6464.