Your pain is real. It’s not “all in your head,” and you’re not making it up. But what if I told you that understanding the connection between your mind and body could be the key to finally finding relief from chronic pain that has dominated your life for months or years?
This isn’t about positive thinking or “mind over matter”—it’s about understanding the sophisticated ways your brain creates and maintains pain, and learning to work with your nervous system to find genuine relief.
At Ontario Therapy, located at 171 Main Street South in downtown Newmarket, we specialize in Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and other evidence-based approaches that treat chronic pain by addressing how your nervous system processes and amplifies pain signals.
For two years, she's dealt with chronic pelvic pain that no gynecologist, urologist, or gastroenterologist can explain. The pain is real, debilitating, and affects every aspect of her life—work, relationships, intimacy, sleep. She's been told it's "idiopathic" (unknown cause), which feels like medical speak for "we don't know, so live with it." She's lost count of how many times she's been asked about stress, trauma, or whether she might be "somatizing."
He's a successful engineer from Stouffville, but chronic lower back pain has turned him into someone he doesn't recognize. He's had every test, every injection, every surgery that specialists recommend. The pain started after a minor lifting incident, but now it's constant, unpredictable, and seems to have a mind of its own. He's intelligent enough to know something isn't adding up medically, but desperate enough to try anything.
She's had chronic migraines since her car accident on Davis Drive three years ago. She's tried every medication, seen every specialist from Newmarket to Toronto, tried acupuncture, massage, and elimination diets. The headaches control her life—she's missed her daughter's school events, declined social invitations, and feels like a burden to everyone around her. Her Aurora family doctor suggested it might be "stress-related," but she wasn't stressed before the accident.
Two years after his workplace injury in Bradford, the physical damage has healed according to his MRI, but the pain persists. WSIB wants to cut his benefits because "there's no structural cause." His physiotherapist is frustrated, his family thinks he's malingering, and he's starting to wonder if he's going crazy. The pain is worst at night when he lies awake catastrophizing about his future, his finances, and whether he'll ever feel normal again.
She's been awake since 3 AM, her fibromyalgia flaring again. The neurologist in Aurora says there's nothing more they can do. Her family doctor increased her medications, but the side effects leave her feeling foggy and disconnected. Her husband from King City doesn't understand why she can't just "push through it" like she used to. She's googled "chronic pain help near me" dozens of times, finding only more medical specialists who look at her like she's drug-seeking when she describes her invisible agony.
Start with a 15-minute conversation where we discuss your specific pain history, previous treatments, and how pain psychology might help your particular situation.
If you’re in crisis with severe pain or having thoughts of self-harm due to chronic pain
Acute pain serves a vital purpose—it’s your body’s alarm system warning you about tissue damage that needs attention. You touch a hot stove, pain signals travel to your brain, and you pull your hand away. Perfect system.
But chronic pain is different. It’s when your alarm system gets stuck in the “on” position, sending danger signals even when there’s no longer any tissue damage—or sometimes when there never was significant damage to begin with.
How Pain Becomes Chronic:
Neural Pathway Sensitization: When pain signals travel the same pathways repeatedly, those pathways become hypersensitive. It’s like a path through the woods that becomes a highway with repeated use—easier for pain signals to travel.
Central Sensitization: Your spinal cord and brain become more reactive to pain signals, amplifying normal sensations into painful ones. Light touch might feel like burning, gentle movement might feel like stabbing.
Fear-Avoidance Cycles: Fear of pain leads to avoidance of movement or activities, which leads to deconditioning, which leads to more pain and more fear. Your protective behaviors inadvertently maintain the pain cycle.
Stress-Pain Amplification: Chronic stress, worry, and trauma keep your nervous system in a heightened state, making everything feel more intense—including pain.
Nocebo Effect: Negative expectations about pain (based on past experiences or medical messaging) can actually increase pain intensity through neural mechanisms.
Modern neuroscience shows us that chronic pain is often more about your nervous system’s alarm settings than ongoing tissue damage. This doesn’t mean pain is imaginary—it means it’s neuroplastic, which means it can change.
Key Research Findings:
Neuroplasticity and Pain: Your brain’s pain processing centers can be retrained. Studies show that psychological interventions can literally change brain structure and function in chronic pain patients.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy Results: Recent clinical trials show that 66% of chronic pain patients achieved pain-free or nearly pain-free status after PRT treatment, with results maintained at one-year follow-up.
Mind-Body Connection: Research demonstrates that addressing psychological factors (fear, stress, trauma, catastrophic thinking) can reduce pain intensity by 40-70% in many chronic pain conditions.
Placebo Power: Understanding that positive expectations and safety signals can reduce pain by 20-30% through actual neurobiological mechanisms, not just “belief.”
Trauma-Pain Link: Studies show that individuals with trauma history are significantly more likely to develop chronic pain, and treating trauma often reduces pain intensity.
This isn’t alternative medicine—it’s cutting-edge neuroscience applied to pain treatment.
As one of the few therapists in Ontario certified in Pain Reprocessing Therapy, I offer this revolutionary approach that treats chronic pain as a learned neural pathway that can be unlearned.
PRT Core Components:
What PRT Sessions Look Like:
CBT-P focuses on changing pain-related thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that maintain chronic pain cycles.
CBT-P Techniques:
Understanding that pain lives in the body, we use body-based techniques to help your nervous system learn safety and regulation.
Somatic Pain Work:
Many chronic pain conditions have trauma components—either from the original injury, medical trauma from treatments, or pre-existing trauma that predisposes to chronic pain.
Trauma-Pain Integration:
Fibromyalgia is a classic example of central sensitization—your nervous system has become hypersensitive to normal stimuli. Our approach focuses on calming this hypersensitivity.
Fibromyalgia-Specific Treatment:
Whether your headaches started after an injury, gradually developed, or seem to have no clear cause, our mind-body approach can provide significant relief.
Headache-Specific Interventions:
Back pain is often maintained by fear of movement, stress, and nervous system sensitization rather than ongoing structural damage.
Back Pain Specialized Treatment:
Injury-related chronic pain often involves multiple layers: physical healing, trauma from the incident, stress about finances and work, and frustration with insurance systems.
Injury-Related Pain Services:
Pelvic pain often involves complex interactions between physical, emotional, and nervous system factors, and frequently has trauma components.
Pelvic Pain Specialized Approach:
Chronic fatigue often accompanies chronic pain and may involve similar nervous system dysfunction.
Fatigue-Focused Interventions:
I didn’t stumble into pain psychology by accident—I sought out specialized training because I witnessed too many people suffering needlessly from chronic pain that the medical system couldn’t adequately address.
Specialized Pain Training:
Real-World Pain Experience:
Professional Pain Psychology Connections:
I understand chronic pain not just academically, but personally. I know what it’s like to feel dismissed by medical professionals, to have your pain minimized, and to wonder if you’ll ever feel normal again. This lived experience informs my approach with compassion and genuine understanding.
When pain spikes unexpectedly, this breathing technique can help calm your nervous system and reduce pain intensity within 3-5 minutes.
Pain flares often trigger panic, shallow breathing, and muscle tension—all of which amplify pain signals. This technique activates your parasympathetic nervous system and interrupts the pain-stress cycle.
How to do it:
Why it works: This breathing pattern signals safety to your nervous system, reduces stress hormones that amplify pain, and activates natural pain-relieving mechanisms in your body. The steady rhythm gives your mind something to focus on besides pain sensations.
When to use it:
Pro tip: Practice this when your pain is manageable so it’s automatic during difficult moments. You can do this anywhere—in your car before entering a store, in a doctor’s waiting room, or lying in bed during a flare.
171 Main Street South offers ideal accessibility for individuals dealing with chronic pain conditions that may affect mobility, energy, or transportation.
Pain-Friendly Location Features:
For many chronic pain patients, traveling to appointments can trigger flares, increase fatigue, or simply be impossible on bad pain days. Our virtual pain psychology services ensure consistent care regardless of your physical condition.
Virtual Pain Therapy Benefits:
Pain-Specific Virtual Adaptations:
Technology Accommodations: We understand that chronic pain can affect cognitive function, energy levels, and fine motor skills:
Ontario Therapy is more than a collective; it’s a community where healing begins with connection. From every corner of Ontario, we’re here to support your journey to wellness.
Effective pain psychology requires understanding your unique pain story, triggers, patterns, and previous treatment experiences.
Initial Assessment Includes:
Pain Pattern Analysis:
Before we can change your relationship with pain, you need to understand what’s actually happening in your nervous system.
Pain Neuroscience Education:
Core Pain Psychology Skills:
This is where transformation happens—actively changing how your nervous system processes and responds to pain signals.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy Phases:
Trauma and Emotional Processing:
Pain psychology isn’t about eliminating all pain forever—it’s about changing your relationship with pain so it no longer controls your life.
Integration Focus:
Long-term Maintenance:
Absolutely correct. Pain psychology never suggests that pain is imaginary or “all in your head.” We work from the understanding that chronic pain is a real neurobiological condition that can be addressed through changing nervous system patterns.
Pain psychology addresses the root cause of many chronic pain conditions: nervous system sensitization and learned pain patterns. Most treatments focus on the site of pain; we focus on how your brain processes pain signals.
Actually, understanding pain psychology often makes you a more informed and effective advocate for yourself in medical settings. You’ll better understand what treatments are likely to help and why.
This is a common concern. We work very gradually and systematically, always ensuring you feel safe. Temporary increases in pain during the learning process are normal and expected.
We offer sliding scale fees specifically for chronic pain patients who often face significant medical costs. Many clients find that effective pain psychology actually reduces overall healthcare expenses.
We offer virtual sessions specifically for this reason, and we have flexible rescheduling policies that accommodate the unpredictable nature of chronic pain.
Not at all. Pain psychology can be done alongside any medical treatments. Some people choose to reduce medications as their pain improves, but this is always done in coordination with prescribing physicians.
Results vary, but many people notice some improvement within 6-8 sessions. Significant change often happens within 3-6 months, though some complex cases benefit from longer-term support.
Family education is often part of pain psychology. We can help your loved ones understand how chronic pain works and how they can best support your recovery.
Pain psychology has been shown effective for most chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia, chronic back pain, headaches, pelvic pain, and many others. We’ll assess whether this approach is appropriate for your specific situation.
For individuals with severe, persistent chronic pain who want comprehensive, accelerated treatment.
Program Components:
Specialized program for individuals whose chronic pain began with workplace or motor vehicle injuries.
Program Features:
Because chronic pain affects entire relationships, not just individuals.
Couples-Focused Services:
Monthly support groups for individuals at different stages of chronic pain recovery.
Group Options:
Individual Pain Psychology Sessions:
Specialized Intensive Programs:
Group Programs:
Sliding Scale and Payment Options: We understand that chronic pain often creates financial stress through medical costs, reduced work capacity, and insurance challenges:
Return on Investment: Most clients find that effective pain psychology treatment:
Pain psychology goes beyond management to actually change how your nervous system processes pain. Rather than just coping with pain, the goal is often significant pain reduction or elimination through neuroplastic healing.
Increasingly, medical professionals are recognizing the effectiveness of pain psychology. We’re happy to communicate with your healthcare providers and provide education about these approaches.
Yes. Even when there are medical conditions involved (arthritis, herniated discs, etc.), pain psychology can address the nervous system components that often amplify pain beyond what the medical condition alone would cause.
Many types of chronic pain previously thought to be permanent are now understood to be neuroplastic and changeable. Even if some pain persists, changing your relationship with it can dramatically improve quality of life.
While openness helps, you don’t need to be a believer. The techniques work through neurobiological mechanisms regardless of your initial skepticism.
Pain psychology uses specific, evidence-based techniques that work on actual neural pathways. It’s not about thinking positively about pain, but about retraining how your nervous system processes pain signals.
Absolutely. Pain psychology works best as part of a comprehensive approach. We often coordinate with physiotherapists, massage therapists, physicians, and other providers.
Injury-related pain often responds very well to pain psychology because there are usually clear trauma and stress components. We have extensive experience with WSIB and motor vehicle accident cases.
Most extended health plans cover psychotherapy, including pain psychology. We can provide documentation about the medical necessity of this treatment approach.
We’ll assess whether pain psychology is appropriate during your initial consultation. Generally, if your pain has persisted beyond normal healing time or seems disproportionate to any medical findings, pain psychology can likely help.
Southlake Regional Health Centre – pain clinic coordination
York Region physiotherapy clinics – integrated treatment planning
WSIB healthcare providers – collaborative injury recovery
Specialist pain physicians – communication and treatment coordination
Right now, chronic pain might feel like a life sentence. You might believe that this is just how your life will be—managing pain, canceling plans, feeling misunderstood, and watching others live the life you used to have.
But what if that’s not true? What if your nervous system’s alarm system is stuck in “on” position and can be recalibrated? What if the pain that has controlled your life for months or years can actually change?
At Ontario Therapy in Newmarket, we’ve witnessed hundreds of people reclaim their lives from chronic pain. Not through more medications, injections, or surgeries—but through understanding and working with their nervous system’s incredible capacity for healing and change.
Your pain taught you something important: that your body can protect you. Now it’s time to teach your nervous system that the danger has passed and it’s safe to turn down the alarm.
The woman who couldn’t sleep due to fibromyalgia who now enjoys camping trips with her family. The construction worker from Bradford whose back pain kept him off work for two years who returned to full duties. The migraine sufferer who missed her daughter’s graduation but hasn’t missed a family event in eight months.
Their pain was real. Their healing was real. And yours can be too.
Pain psychology isn’t magic—it’s neuroscience. It’s not about positive thinking—it’s about changing neural pathways. It’s not about eliminating all discomfort—it’s about reclaiming your life from the tyranny of chronic pain.
Your nervous system learned these pain patterns to protect you. Now it can learn new patterns that serve your life rather than limit it.
The cozy chair in our Main Street office is ready for you. The secure virtual therapy room is available when you need it. And most importantly, someone who understands both the neuroscience of chronic pain and the human experience of suffering is here to guide you back to the life you deserve.
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Providing expert pain psychology and Pain Reprocessing Therapy to Newmarket, Aurora, King City, Bradford, Stouffville, and communities throughout Ontario. Sliding scale fees, WSIB billing, and specialized chronic pain treatment that honors both your suffering and your capacity for healing.
Pain Psychology Hours:
Virtual sessions available 7 days a week for pain flare emergencies
Take the first step today:
Ontario Therapy – Newmarket
171 Main Street South
Newmarket, ON L3Y 4Z1
