KM Psychotherapy
Karen Morton MA (Psych & Couns) MBACP (Accred)
Chronic Pain & Conditions
Living with Chronic Conditions
Beyond the Physical Sensations
Whether you are navigating the daily challenges of, amongst others, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue (ME/CFS), Long Covid, chronic dizziness, IBS, migraines, neck or back pain, or other persistent conditions, the experience is never limited to the physical sensations alone.
Chronic symptoms impact every aspect of your life: your identity, relationships, career, lifestyle, mental health, and your hopes for the future.
Navigating the Unseen
Because many of these conditions are invisible, there is often a profound sense of disconnect between how you appear outwardly and how you actually feel. You may have become an expert at masking – performing wellness to get through the day – or when you are open about how you are, only to be met with comments like, ‘But you look so well!’ or ‘You seemed fine yesterday.’
This lack of external validation can be just as painful and draining as the physical symptoms themselves. It often leads to a cycle of intermittent symptoms, isolation, and pressure to justify your experience to others. I acknowledge the unappreciated effort it takes to navigate a world that doesn’t always see or believe the reality of your experience.
I Believe You
If you have been told that 'everything is normal' on your scans and medical examinations while you are in debilitating pain, or if your symptoms flare during times of stress, please know that you are not alone.
From my clinical training and my own lived experience, I know that the physical pain you experience is real. A normal test result does not negate the real symptoms and pain you experience in your body, nor the impact they have on your life. I am here to support you, and I believe you.
Understanding Pain and Chronic Symptoms
All pain is created in our brains, whether its origin is structural or emotional; the pain you experience is no different, whether or not a doctor can find the cause. Our understanding of pain has shifted greatly in recent years and neuroscience research has recognised pain's biopsychosocial component.
Whether your symptoms are from a purely physical, or purely emotional cause, or a mixture of both (there is, or was, a structural issue), there is always an emotional and stress-induced component. Your symptoms may not include pain; you may experience chronic dizziness or extreme fatigue, for example, and these may also be from a purely or partially emotional cause.
The good news is, that recovery and improvement of the quality of life is possible!
The MindBody Connection
While the pain you feel is 100% real, neuroscience shows us that many persistent symptoms are driven by a sensitized nervous system. When the brain perceives a threat – whether from adverse childhood experiences, past trauma, prolonged stress, or illness – it can create very real physical symptoms as a protective response. This is often referred to as neuroplastic pain, stress-related illness, TMS or mindbody syndrome.
Biological factors
We each have different perceptions of pain and symptoms. This means that one person’s sensitivity may be much more intense than another. You are not imagining it, you are not ‘weak’ or ‘broken’ - the intensity you experience is real. Pain and symptom intensity may be due to genetics and epigenetics, hormones and central sensitization – the process where pain often starts with tissue damage or inflammation, however, it does not follow the typical course of healing and the pain becomes independent of the initial cause, and can radiate and become more widespread.
Psychological factors
Your thoughts, adverse childhood experiences and traumas, learned behavioural responses and emotions influence how your brain interprets danger signals. Here are a few examples of psychological factors which increase pain and symptoms: fear and avoidance behaviours, anxiety and depression, and hypervigilance with respect to symptom experience.
Social factors
Your environment and support systems play a role in your nervous system's ability to regulate. These factors may include, history of relationships, socioeconomic status, work and financial issues, social support networks, cultural background, stigma and social injustice.
How I Can Support You
Every client is unique and will respond to different approaches. Therefore I integrate various psychotherapeutic modalities and techniques with somatic approaches as appropriate, meeting you where you are at when you contact me. I integrate psychotherapy with evidence-based mindbody and somatic approaches-– such as the SIRPA approach, Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) – all of which are designed specifically for chronic symptom recovery. I also incorporate other psychotherapeutic somatic practices as appropriate; this is a process we work through collaboratively.
Working with me for chronic conditions is an educational, trauma-informed and self-empowering process. You will be supported in exploring the underlying causes of your chronic symptoms through psychoeducation and nervous system regulation tools, enabling you to gain a better understanding of your emotions, behavioural patterns and current lifestyle. My goal is to validate your experience while empowering you to become more resilient, emotionally aware and to live your best life.
What to Expect in Our Work Together
Firstly, we will work through an assessment. This involves gathering information about your medical history and physical and mental health conditions, as well as exploring your history and your current lived experience. We work together at your pace and incorporate grounding techniques where needed.
We work together to establish your short, medium and long term goals and aspirations. Even at an early stage in the process, we might agree a small lifestyle change or a technique which will support your progress and keep you motivated. As I have mentioned, the process is very individual to you and this might feel like pressure, and therefore is more stress for your nervous system, so in that case we will agree something that will help you to relax.
Our work together also focuses on
Validation & Education
Understanding the science of your pain experience and find ways to reduce the fear-pain cycle.
Nervous System Regulation
Learning how to shift your body from a state of ‘fight flight freeze or fawn’ into ‘rest and repair’.
Emotional Processing
From a trauma-informed lens, exploring the connection between your history, your emotions, and your physical and mental health.
Practical Tools
Developing and building a ‘toolkit’ of techniques and processes you can utilise to empower you to make sustainable lifestyle and behavioural change and reduce or recover from your symptoms.
What I Can Support You With
Here is a list of some of the common chronic symptoms and chronic conditions which can be neuroplastic or have mind body stress-related components. Please note that while some of these conditions have structural or medical origins, they frequently involve a sensitized nervous system that can benefit from mindbody approaches.
I have experience supporting clients navigating:
Pain & Physical Symptoms
- Back, neck, and joint pain
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
- Pelvic pain (including Vulvodynia and Prostatitis)
- Piriformis syndrome and Sciatica
- Post-surgical incision pain
- Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
- Temporomandibular disorder (TMJ/TMD)
- Trigeminal neuralgia
Fatigue & Systemic Conditions
- Adrenal fatigue syndrome
- Chronic Fatigue / ME
- Chronic Lyme Disease
- Fibromyalgia
- Long Covid
- Post-exertional malaise
- Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
Digestive & Metabolic Health
- Abdominal pain
- Food sensitivities (multiple)
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Leaky gut syndrome
- Small intestine bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SIBO)
Neurological & Sensory Symptoms
- Brain fog
- Burning mouth syndrome
- Dizziness or vertigo (including PPPD)
- Functional Neurologic Disorder (FND)
- Headache or Migraine
- Hypersensitivity (to touch, sound, smell, light, or medications)
- Paraesthesia (tingling or numbness)
- Tics
- Tinnitus
- Visual abnormalities and disturbances
Other Stress-Related Symptoms & Conditions
- Chronic cough
- Chronic eczema, hives, or itching
- Chronic inflammation
- Hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
- Insomnia
- Interstitial Cystitis
- Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
- Raynaud’s syndrome
- Restless leg syndrome
- Sexual dysfunction
This list isn’t exhaustive. If you are experiencing a persistent symptom or have a diagnosis not mentioned here, and you sense that your nervous system might be a factor, mindbody approaches provide an evidence-based pathway for recovery. Please feel free to reach out to discuss how we might apply this approach to your own lived experience.
Introductory Call
Contact me for a free 20-minute introductory call so that you can ask questions and we can work out how we might work together.