Pain is usually associated with a currently existing physical injury, which makes helping clients who suffer from chronic pain especially challenging. Oftentimes, the source of their pain isn’t physical, or it’s an injury that occurred so long ago that it should no longer be hurting them. So where’s the connection to the pain they’re feeling now?
Maggie Phillips, author of Reversing Chronic Pain, has identified the missing link as unreleased trauma. When the body holds onto a trauma from the past—physical or not—it causes localized pain problems. Maggie believes that there are four levels of unreleased trauma that apply to chronic pain.
Watch the video on YouTube to hear her describe these four levels and how attachment issues can play a big part in unreleased trauma.
Rich Simon
Richard Simon, PhD, founded Psychotherapy Networker and served as the editor for more than 40 years. He received every major magazine industry honor, including the National Magazine Award. Rich passed away November 2020, and we honor his memory and contributions to the field every day.
