Our Services A - Z - Pain Psychology Team

The Clinical Heath Psychology Team for St Helens and Knowsley Locality are based at St Helens Hospital. We are a team of experienced Clinical and Health Psychologists who support people in managing the psychological impact of physical health adversity.

Living with Chronic Pain

Living with chronic pain can be challenging. It can impact many aspects of everyday life and have physical, psychological, and social effects. For example:

• Being less able to do things e.g. working, socialising, everyday activities, getting out, hobbies and exercise
• Difficult emotions e.g. low mood, depression, anxiety, frustration, anger, guilt, and shame
• Changes in relationships and sense of self e.g. being more irritable with others, needing support from others, saying no to doing things for or with others and others expecting you to do things you may now struggle to do

So it’s all in my head then?

No! Pain is real and it affects your thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and overall quality of life. We call this secondary suffering. It is the secondary suffering that the psychologist will support with.

How can psychology help?

Psychologist cannot make the pain go away and they don’t prescribe medication or perform medical procedures. They can however help increase your understanding of chronic pain, support with low mood and anxiety, and improve your confidence in managing your pain to improve your quality of life. However, not everyone with pain needs to see a psychologist. Below you can find information on resources which people with pain have found helpful with self-management.

What happens when you see a psychologist?

Once we have received a referral for you, we will contact you to introduce you to our service. We will agree on that call what the next steps will be. Generally, people are placed on our waiting list at this point. Alternatively, you may receive some information and/or guidance on other forms of support available to you. For those placed on our waiting list, once you reach the top of it, you will be offered an assessment appointment. This could be face to face at St Helens Hospital or remotely via telephone or Attend Anywhere. This appointment can last up to 90 minutes. At this assessment appointment, the psychologist will ask you about the pain and the impact it has on your life. They will also ask about your social circumstances and current situation. This is to help understand what the main issues are for you, what isn’t working for you, but most importantly, what matters to you.

At the end the assessment, you and the psychologist will agree a plan. Occasionally, the psychologist may contact you after the appointment to agree a plan. Together, you might decide that another service better meets your needs, e.g. a mental health specific service if your distress is mainly linked to a mental health problem. Sometimes, you may agree that you are managing okay and don’t need psychological input.

If you do agree with the psychologist that psychological input would be helpful, this could take the form of group or individual sessions.

Group Pain Management Programme (PMP)

If after a pain psychology assessment you are invited to a PMP, you will also be invited to a pre PMP session in which you will spend more time clarifying what matters to you (values) and how you can begin to make changes, so you are living more in line with your values. We run two pain management programmes a year, one in the autumn and the other in spring. They are held on a Wednesday morning and run for 12 weeks at a time. The programme is facilitated by both psychology and physio. Here is some feedback from previous groups:

“I came to the program thinking that it would not really interest me at all. I was so negative. However, the PMP really surprised me. I have learnt so much and feel like a better a person.”

“Talking about the pain and knowing you are not alone was helpful”

“The PMP was something I had previously suggested to me but wasn’t the right time. Also thought it would be a waste of time. How wrong I was! Meeting Sarah at the one to one was fabulous. I cried afterwards as she understands, listened and explained about the PMP. I have absolutely loves the sessions. The three “tutors” are lovely and professional. Very knowledgeable and patient. Can’t say enough about the PMP. Doesn’t cure but helps us cope so much more”

Individual sessions

Individual sessions can be in person at St Helens hospital, or remotely. The number and duration of sessions will vary depending on your individual needs and circumstances. They will generally just be with a psychologist, although you may also be referred to a pain specialist physio.