Our speaker today was our own Mike Munion on the topic "The Pain Project". Mike has an MA and is an LPC who has been a practicing psychotherapist in Arizona since 1979.
Mike started out by discussing the opioid epidemic that our country is experiencing. For example 2 people die daily in Arizona from opioid overdoses. Mike then made the distinction between acute and chronic pain.
The Pain Project is an online community where people who suffer from chronic pain - and the pain project therapists who care for them - learn to manage pain and provide support for one another. The professional staff of the Pain Project (13 by my count) interact with patients via Skype sessions that last up to an hour. The objective according to Mike is to develop patient-centered pain self management. Another objective is to adopt a conservative use of analgesics - what's needed and no more.
The Pain Project approach, according to their website, is to:
1. Help you better understand your pain
2. Guide you to healing
3. Develop a plan with attainable goals
4. Teach you skills to reclaim your life
5. Put you back in control
For more information, see thepainproject.com.