Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is a psychological approach designed to help people with persistent or chronic pain by changing how the brain interprets pain signals. It is most often used for pain that continues without clear ongoing tissue damage or where pain responses have become learned and amplified over time.
PRT combines education, body awareness and emotional techniques to help reduce fear and retrain pain pathways.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is based on the idea that some chronic pain is driven by the brain and nervous system continuing to generate danger signals even when the body is no longer injured. Rather than ignoring pain, PRT helps people understand it differently and respond to it in ways that reduce fear, hypervigilance and pain-related distress.
Sessions usually involve learning about neuroplastic or brain-generated pain, exploring how fear and attention affect symptoms, and practising techniques such as somatic tracking. Somatic tracking involves noticing pain sensations with curiosity and safety, rather than alarm.
A therapist may also help you work with stress, emotional patterns and avoidance behaviours that may be reinforcing the pain cycle.
PRT does not assume pain is “imaginary”. Instead, it views pain as real but sometimes maintained by the brain's protective processes. It may be used alongside medical care, especially once serious underlying causes have been ruled out.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is generally most appropriate for persistent pain patterns where medical assessment suggests there is no ongoing structural danger. A qualified clinician can help determine whether this approach is suitable for your situation.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy is a modern approach influenced by research into neuroplastic pain, pain neuroscience education and mind-body treatment models. It has gained attention in recent years as interest has grown in brain-based approaches to persistent pain.
Showing 5 conditions where Pain Reprocessing Therapy is commonly used.
| Condition | Evidence | Notes |
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strong
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Targets brain-driven pain in persistent back pain where no ongoing damage is found. |
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strong
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Targets brain-driven pain in chronic pain where no ongoing damage is found. |
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strong
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Targets the brain pain-processing that drives widespread fibromyalgia pain. |
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strong
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Works to retrain the brain's perception of persistent nerve pain, easing fear around the sensations and lowering how threatening they feel. |
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strong
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Targets the brain's pain signals in persistent pelvic pain where no ongoing damage is found. |