Free Mind Health Check
The anxiety toolkit
Read with intentionLiving well with chronic pain.
When pain outstays its welcome, it wears on your sleep, mood and everything you want to do. Psychology will not pretend the pain away — it helps you turn down its volume and take back your days, alongside your medical care.
Pain that has become part of the furniture.
Around one in five Australians lives with persistent pain. When it lingers past the point of healing, it starts to shape your whole life — and that is exactly where psychology can help.
- The pain has stuck around well past the usual healing time.
- Flare-ups derail your plans and leave you second-guessing every activity.
- Sleep is broken, and the tiredness makes the pain feel worse.
- You avoid movement in case it hurts, and your world keeps shrinking.
- Your mood has dropped, or you feel more irritable and on edge.
- You have felt dismissed, or told it is "all in your head".
- Work, relationships and the things you enjoy have all taken a hit.
- You are exhausted by the daily work of managing it.
Your pain is real. When pain persists, the nervous system can become more sensitive and turn the volume up, and stress, sleep and mood all feed into how much you feel. That is why a whole-person approach — biological, psychological and social together — works so well, hand in hand with your GP, physiotherapist and pain team.
Turning down the volume.
Pain psychology is practical. Your psychologist draws on the approaches with the best evidence for persistent pain, and explains the reasoning as you go.
CBT
Cognitive behaviour therapy — easing the fear, frustration and catastrophic thoughts that quietly crank pain up.
ACT
Acceptance and commitment therapy — spending less energy fighting pain and more on the life and activities that matter.
Pain-management skills
Pacing, graded activity, flare planning and better sleep — the practical toolkit for steadier, fuller days.
Mindfulness & relaxation
Calming an over-sensitised nervous system, so it stops treating everyday sensations as alarms.
The aim is a bigger life, not just a smaller pain score — more of what you value, on more days. We review your goals together and work in step with your medical team.
Your first weeks, step by step.
No lectures, no pressure. Here is how the early sessions usually unfold.
Mostly a conversation
Your psychologist asks about your pain, your history and what you would most like to get back to. Together you sketch a plan.
Understanding your pain
You map your flares, your pacing, your sleep and the thoughts that turn pain up — then start practising specific skills between sessions.
Reviewing together
Progress is measured in function and quality of life, checked against your goals — and coordinated with your medical care.
Know your costs before you start.
We confirm your fee and any rebate in writing before your first session. If a funding body covers you, we bill them directly wherever possible.
See the full fee schedule- Medicare: rebates on up to 10 sessions a year with a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP.
- NDIS, DVA, Workers Comp & CTP: usually no out-of-pocket cost when approved.
- Private health: claim through your extras cover, with no referral needed.
Clinicians who work with chronic pain.
Things people ask before booking.
Do I need a referral to start?
Does seeing a psychologist mean my pain is not real?
Will therapy get rid of my pain?
Is what I share confidential?
Can this work over telehealth?
Pain does not have to run your days.
Tell us what is going on and we will match you with a psychologist who works with chronic pain — usually within one business day. We will work in step with your GP and physio, with your consent.
Let’s get you matched.
No referral needed to begin. Medicare rebates apply with a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
Thanks — we'll call you back within one business day. If it's time-sensitive, call us on 1300 084 200.
Need support right now? Lifeline 13 11 14 · Emergency 000 — available 24/7.
Follow the circle. Breathe in as it grows, out as it settles. Nothing else to do.
That calm you just found is always within reach — and when you'd like someone alongside you, we're here.