Navigating Chronic Pain
By now, you’ve probably tried a lot—specialists, scans, medications, physical therapy, supplements, diets. Maybe some things helped a little, but nothing brought lasting relief. Maybe you’ve been told your symptoms are “all in your head,” or you’ve started to wonder if healing is even possible.
Because pain is both physical and psychological, treating only one side can leave you stuck. If the physical route hasn’t worked, chronic pain–focused psychotherapy may be the missing piece.
Understanding Chronic Symptoms as Protective Mechanisms
We know your symptoms are real. You’re not imagining it, exaggerating it, or making it up. At the same time, all sensation—whether it’s a stubbed toe or chronic back pain—is processed in the brain. The brain decides when to create the sensation based on how much danger it thinks you’re in.
This system is built to protect you, but it can become overly sensitive, sending pain signals even in the absence (or excess) of structural damage. That doesn’t mean the pain is “in your head.” It means your nervous system is stuck in protection mode, but it can learn to feel safe again.
You can shift out of fear, retrain the brain, and rebuild a sense of safety in your body. Our Chronic Pain Specialist Ruthie Schnitt helps clients reduce symptoms, restore trust in their bodies, and reclaim a sense of empowerment. When your nervous system feels safe, change becomes possible.
Ruthie Schnitt is a psychotherapist based in Salt Lake City with advanced training in neuroscience informed therapy for chronic symptoms. She is certified in Pain Reprocessing Therapy, the Sarno x Sachs Solution, and Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE). Ruthie has held multiple roles in the chronic pain field—including serving as a research clinician at the University of Utah’s C-MIIND lab, developing mind-body educational curriculum, and interning at the Pain Psychology Center. As someone who has personally navigated and recovered from over 12 different chronic symptoms, Ruthie brings both clinical expertise and deep compassion to this work.
Common Symptoms That Can Resolve with this Treatment:
- Back pain (including cases with disc herniations or other MRI findings)
- Neck, shoulder, knee, leg, hand, and wrist pain
- Pelvic pain
- Endometriosis
- Interstitial cystitis
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic tendonitis
- Sciatica
- TMJ and jaw pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome–related pain
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Migraines
- Tension headaches
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Facial pain
- Nerve pain
- Numbness, tingling, or burning sensations
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Long COVID symptoms
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Insomnia
- Tinnitus
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
How the Work Is Structured
- Assessment: We begin with a thorough evaluation of your symptoms to determine whether our approach is a good fit.
- Education: Next, we explore education on the neuroscience of pain—why it persists, how the brain learns it, and how we can help it learn new patterns.
- Practice: Together, we develop a treatment plan designed to be practiced both in and out of session.
Evidence-Based Therapeutic Modalities:
We use several neuroscience-informed approaches to help turn down the brain’s danger signal and support pain reduction:
- Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT): PRT helps the brain reinterpret pain signals as safe rather than dangerous. By shifting how you respond to pain—through neuroscience education, mindfulness, curiosity, and emotional regulation—PRT retrains the brain’s default settings and reduces the intensity of symptoms over time.
- Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE): MORE combines mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal, and savoring to help rewire the brain’s response to pain.
- Sarno x Sachs Solution: This approach works by identifying and releasing unconscious fear, tension, and emotional patterns that fuel pain. It involves emotional expression (usually in the form of journaling) and teaching your brain to be safe feeling uncomfortable emotions.
Common Therapy Goals and Outcomes:
● Making sense of persistent symptoms
● Reducing fear and hypervigilance around the body
● Restoring trust in your body’s ability to move and heal
● Processing difficult emotions tied to pain
● Navigating medical gaslighting or invalidation
● Reintroducing joy, movement, and rest
● Living with less avoidance and more confidence
● Integrating more self-compassion into your brain and body
● Substantial decrease or complete elimination of chronic symptoms
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is this only for people whose doctors said “it’s all in your head”?
No. Many clients have been thoroughly evaluated, with real symptoms and no clear answers. Pain is never just in your head—it exists in both the brain and the body, and both can change.
What if I have a real diagnosis like disc herniation, endometriosis, or arthritis?
Having a diagnosis doesn’t rule out a brain-based pain process. Often, structural findings don’t explain the intensity or persistence of symptoms. The full picture helps determine whether brain-based patterns are contributing.
Will I have to stop all my other treatments?
No. This work can complement existing care. Clients are never asked to stop
medications, physical therapy, or other treatments unless they and their medical
providers choose to do so.
Does this work help even if I’ve been in pain for years?
Yes. Chronic pain often stems from learned patterns in the brain—and those patterns
can be unlearned. Some people have experienced complete symptom resolution even after decades of pain.
What’s the difference between this and traditional talk therapy?
This work is more structured and focused on pain education, nervous system regulation, and specific mind-body practices. The primary goal is symptom reduction, not just exploration. That said, pain touches all aspects of life—thoughts, emotions, identity, relationships. There is space for the whole person, and healing often begins when all parts of you are seen.
Do I have to believe this will work for it to help?
No. Many clients start out skeptical. Change doesn’t require belief—just openness and curiosity.
How do I know this isn’t just another thing that won’t work?
Many clients who begin this work have been let down by treatments that didn’t bring lasting relief—so it makes sense to be cautious. That’s why Ruthie starts with education and a thorough assessment to ensure this approach is a good fit for your symptoms. There’s no pressure to commit blindly. She also offers a free 15-minute consultation so you can get a feel for whether this path is right for you.
Helpful Resources to Learn More about Our Approach:
- Take the quiz to assess for neuroplastic pain!
- CURABLE APP– Curable is an app that does an excellent job of explaining the science behind chronic pain psychology and offers a variety of helpful exercises. Here is a link for 6 weeks of free access to explore the app and see if it’s helpful for you.
- Understanding Pain in Less Than Five Minutes
- Lorimer Moseley’s TEDx Talk: “Why Things Hurt”
- Hope for Healing Video Series
- Books:
- Podcasts:
- Documentaries:
- Social Media:
- Research:
