Comprehensive Pain Program

The Comprehensive Pain Program (CPP) was created for those with chronic pain lasting three months or longer that affects – or has the potential to affect – mental health, ability to work or family relationships and social relationships.

Comprehensive Pain at UVM Medical Center: A Different Approach

The Comprehensive Pain Program brings together modern medicine and evidence-based complementary and alternative therapies to help you optimize your health. Our practices are informed by the latest science in Integrative Health Care, and we offer an array of therapies that address the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.

We are guided by non-judgment, honesty, and authenticity as we empower you to discover agency, self-efficacy, and well-being.

Integrative Therapies Offered

• Acupuncture - An ancient Chinese treatment that stimulates the body to naturally heal and improve function. Thin, sterile needles are used to regulate energy flow, improving function and reducing pain.
• Massage Therapy - A practice of muscle and joint manipulation that enhances the body's natural healing abilities to relieve stress and pain. The treatment may also encourage a deeper awareness of one's own body.
• Movement Classes - Yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and Feldenkrais use gentle movement, breathing, mindful awareness and meditation for a mind-body approach to health and wellness.
• Mindfulness - An effective intervention that focuses on connecting with the present moment to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and the limitations that can accompany chronic pain.
• Nutrition - Individual visits and hands-on cooking classes will help you understand how what you eat influences chronic pain, and increase your confidence in the kitchen.
• Occupational Therapy - Therapy that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities required in daily life.
• Physical Therapy - Therapy designed to decrease your suffering and fear of movement one-on-one or in a group. It includes education and movement to help you improve your life. 
• Reiki - An energy modality using light or no touch. This technique promotes relaxation which helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

Support Groups

In addition to the variety of integrative therapies described above, you will have the opportunity to join one or both of two group offerings.

• PATH (Partners Aligned in Transformative Healing) is an Integrative Medical Group Visit facilitated by medical providers and a variety of integrative practitioners. This group highlights the pathways you can take to realize your personal goals. During PATH sessions, you will have regular access to a medical provider who can answer individual questions, and various members of the CPP team will introduce you to the value of integrative therapies.
• COMPASS Living (Continuing On My Path And Strengthening my Story) is a psychologist-facilitated group designed to help you gain clarity on how to live your life according to your top priorities, as opposed to what your pain dictates. Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a foundation, COMPASS Living is designed to help you discover how to live a more fulfilling life.

Our Goals

• To understand pain as a universal life experience and as a form of suffering which may also hold opportunities for growth, wisdom and wellness.
• To engage those experiencing chronic pain and their families / support systems using a holistic lens.
• To support participants in achieving optimal comfort and function in the service of fulfilling their goals.
• To encourage participants to develop self-efficacy in managing their conditions.
• To work with participants in discerning the safest and most effective therapies available to them.
• To avoid and mitigate the adverse impacts of over-reliance on the prescription of opiate medications on patients and, by extension, the larger community.
• To understand that a socially just society is fundamental to both public and individual health and wellbeing.
• To identify and address the impact of barriers to care among our participants.
• To measure the effectiveness of our work and refine our approach in the service of providing the best possible outcomes for participants.
• To further the care of participants by maintaining a healthy work environment for staff.