The Invisible Epidemic of Chronic pain and Childhood Trauma

In this episode, we explore pain and its relationship to mental health and childhood trauma. Tracey Chester, LMFT, CCTP speaks from both patient and professional perspectives.  Pain can be all-consuming, intractable, and in many cases, invisible. Many of her patients, chronic illness is an experience of invisible suffering, living a life irrevocably changed by pain.

Chronic pain and pain management are complex problems and one of the most common reasons individuals seek medical advice. According to the APA, approximately 100 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic pain, which is the leading cause of disability. The psychological repercussions are numerous: depression, anxiety, withdrawal from productive activities, social isolation, loss of self-esteem and purpose, loss of energy, the fear of being labeled “crazy” or that the pain is “all in my head,” enforced dependency, and the misuse and addiction to opioids.

Tracey Chester, M.S.,M.A, LMFT, CCTP

Tracey Chester is the founder and clinical director of the Pain and Trauma Institute (PTI) of San Diego. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a certified clinical trauma professional, a surf therapy facilitator and a certified grief counselor. Tracey describes herself as a translator/ conduit between the medical world and the therapy world—a product of being both a therapist and a chronic pain patient herself. Her mission at PTI is to promote awareness about trauma-informed care (TIC) as a means to shift a pathological perspective of chronic pain patients to one of resilience. Tracey has been invited to speak at the AOSAM (American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine) 2021 Clinical Conference about the benefits of trauma informed care in primary care.

https://www.paintraumainstitute.com/