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“Everything I knew wasn’t working, but I didn’t know what else to do.” ByTori Etheridge 

This came up during a powerful discussion in the focus groups gathering insight into clinical journeys in pain care, diagnostics, and uncertainty.

So much of clinical training emphasises ruling out causes of pain. From a safety perspective, that matters. But when tests and imaging take months or years, what support is offered in the meantime?

• What if we asked a different question:
• What can we start to rule in?

By listening to a person’s lived experience, their story, their journey,  values, beliefs, and understanding of pain, we can begin making sense of pain even while we wait. 

As clinicians, we can get stuck waiting for imaging or a diagnoses, and unintentionally amplify fear, uncertainty, and pain. In doing so, we may delay care, reinforce passivity, and miss opportunities for early intervention.

If we build stronger foundations in pain knoweldge, learn to recognize common pain patterns and characteristics, and understand where presentations do (or don’t) align with tissue-based explanations, we can:

• Help people make sense of their pain
• Use a strengths-based, person-centered approach to build resilience and capacity
• Support people to re-engage in life
• Encourage agency, confidence, and a sense of control

This isn’t about replacing biomedical care. It’s about reducing over-reliance on it and using the time between referrals, tests, and results more intentionally rather than passively waiting. Because people shouldn’t have to wait to start healing.

Follow Tori Etheridge on LinkedIn 

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