Hi, and thanks for stopping by. I’m Michelle, and if you are here, I’m guessing you’re in pain.
I’ll go ahead and make a few more guesses:
You’ve been to many practitioners, all using different modalities.
But you’re still suffering.
You’ve had multiple diagnoses, and you feel like nobody gets it.
You might have had an injury that hasn’t healed, or it might have come from out of the blue.
You’re fed up feeling this way and you miss your old life.
You’ve stopped going out with friends.
Your pain has caused tension in your family relationships.
You feel like you’ve let everyone down.
Some doctors have been dismissive of your pain or told you that it was all in your head.
trust me I get it
If this is you, then guess what, this was also me…
I was lost in a downward spiral of unexplained, never ending pain, exhausting myself searching for answers. Then one day, I was thrown a lifeline. Now I’m here to throw that lifeline to you. There is hope, there is a way out, it doesn’t cost a whole lot of money, you don’t have to take any pills, and it’s a permanent solution.
Interested yet?
First, I want to make one thing very, very clear. Your pain is absolutely 100% real, and quite likely the worst pain you’ve ever experienced. I believe you, and I get it.
so what’s happening?
When we’re hurt our brain sends us pain in order to protect us. When you touch a hot stove, your brain says “ouch, move away from the stove.” But our brains are complex and sometimes they get the messages mixed up.
For example, you might have sprained your ankle, and your brain sent you messages of pain so that you’d rest your ankle. However, if you were stressed by life at the time and your nervous system was in overdrive, then your brain might’ve forgotten to turn off that message after your ankle healed. When that happened your body created a learned neural pathway.
Those neural pathways then became oversensitive, and more than likely your nervous system became dysregulated. Your pain alarm got stuck in the “on” position. Your brain mistakenly believed it was doing the right thing, protecting you and continuing to send you the pain.
is there a name for it?
Yes – several names actually. This concept was originally developed by Dr John Sarno in the 1970s. He was a professor of Rehabilitation Medicine based at the New York University School of Medicine and spent 50 years of his working life successfully curing people of chronic pain conditions. He coined the expression TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome).
As the neuroscience has developed so has the terminology and these days you’ll see it called MBS (mind body syndrome), PPD (psychophysiological disorder), Neural Circuit Disorder or my preferred term, Neuroplastic Pain. You’ll see these terms interchanged in the resources page.
This condition is very common and widely misunderstood.
how do I make it stop?
When we work together, I’ll empower and support you to understand your brain and your nervous system. The latest breakthroughs in neuroscience show that our brains create what we are experiencing in our bodies through a process called predictive processing: pain doesn’t necessarily come from the body part where it’s felt but is in fact created in the brain.
I will show you how to rewire these neural circuits in your brain by using PRT (pain reprocessing therapy), calm your nervous system, heal past traumas using Embodied Processing, IFS and EMDR techniques to find the missing pieces that keep you stuck – ultimately allowing you to get back to doing the things you love.
what is pain reprocessing therapy (PRT)?
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is an evidence based approach currently considered the most effective treatment for chronic pain. Drawing on the latest neuroscience research and using techniques to retrain and rewire the brain to interpret and respond to signals from the body properly, subsequently breaking the cycle of chronic pain. Often this is all that is needed to create lasting change and healing.
Sometimes we need to dive a little deeper and explore your past and current life stressors, emotional habits and behaviours, and work somatically with the body. This means guiding you to sense and feel your body in a way that allows awareness of stuck energy, old beliefs, and stored traumas, which can then be processed and discharged. These processes are done using IFS protocols and Embodied Processing, a bottom up, (body based) approach to healing trauma and nervous system dysregulation.
testimonials
How can I quantify the life changing, life saving support, understanding, care, healing and holding I have received from Michelle these past 7-8 months? She offers a unique blend of her own lived experience, multiple branches of training, and strong intuitive wisdom and empathy that I have never known before. Without Michelle’s help this year I would have been lost to this world.
The searing pain in my body began while caring for my partner for 3 years through cancer. The pain increased after his sudden and painful death, increased some more after the loss of 2 homes.. one due to a sale, the other due to a flood. I also lost my dog to old age, my job, career, income, and my whole community when I had to move. I knew the pain was stress related and I believed it would improve when things got better. But it just kept getting worse. I was in agony, couldn’t leave the house, and I was spiraling into total panic. I considered ending my life as the only way out… then I found Michelle.
Pain that had kept me either in bed, or lying face down on the floor for several hours a day, had reduced by 50% after only one month of working with Michelle. We continued working together for several more months because I needed a lot of support. At the time of writing this I can joyfully share that the pain is maybe 5-10% compared to 6 months ago!
I still have a little more to learn!
As well as teacher and healer, Michelle became my trusted friend on my journey, offering me a safe space, an open heart and unconditional acceptance every step of the way. These qualities in a healer are invaluable. I am so grateful for this woman in my life.
I’m very particular about who I work with. I’ve been in the creative and healing arts world for more than 3 decades as a client and as a therapist/coach. Michelle immediately made it incredibly safe for me to access places in my body and psyche that had been hidden for a long time. She gently, patiently and lovingly walked beside me with immense compassion as I unravelled the physical story in my body.
Her empathy is deep and kind. She’s been there herself…she just knows. It’s rare to find a therapist/coach as loving, skilled and present as Michelle. Please don’t waste another minute suffering unnecessarily. This work is pure gold….utterly life changing.
Thank you Michelle, you’ve been a blessing in my life. x
The first time I had a session with Michelle the connection between stuck emotions and body was a whole new world for me. During this time she supported me in the process of understanding my own emotions, releasing blockages and empowering me to find my own light. During the years we dug deep in myself from a safe space with tears, screams and laugher. She is an example of discipline, authenticity and growth. I’ll always be grateful for the support she offered me, and the new layers we explored together. In her hands, I could navigate fears knowing that at the end of the tunnel I will unlock my gifts. Thanks so much.
Michelle is a very powerful woman, and with her wisdom, passion about her work and vast knowledge, has been able to provide me with some fundamental tools that allowed me to tackle deep childhood wounds and traumas that were affecting me on a daily basis. Since working with her I have a deeper understanding of how my brain works and how to deal with my chronic pain and emotions in an effective way, that these events rarely manifested again. I highly recommend working with this caring loving and professional angel, she will have a big positive impact in your life.