Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)

Retraining the Brain, Reducing the Pain

Chronic pain is not just a matter of damaged tissue. Increasingly, we understand that the brain and nervous system can become wired into persistent pain patterns even after healing has occurred. At Power of the Mind Psychology, we offer Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) as a cutting-edge, evidence-based treatment designed to help you retrain the brain and reclaim comfort and function.

Why Neuroplasticity Matters

Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change its structure and function over time—both for better and for worse. In chronic pain, this plasticity can work against a person:

  • Brain regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortices and thalamus show structural and connectivity changes in chronic pain. Northwest Pain Guidance+3PubMed+3PMC+3

  • Networks like the default mode network, salience network, and central executive network can become overly engaged in pain processing, supporting a persistent “pain state.” PMC+1

  • This means the pain experience may continue long after tissue damage is healed, because the nervous system has learned to generate pain signals.

By targeting neuroplasticity—helping the brain un-learn unhelpful pain pathways—PRT offers hope for reduction or elimination of pain rather than simply coping with it.

What is Pain Reprocessing Therapy?

PRT helps you understand that your pain can be real and valid, yet rooted in how your brain interprets signals rather than ongoing injury. Key components include:

  • Education about the brain’s role in chronic pain and how mis-wired pain circuits function.

  • Helping clients re-attribute pain from “dangerous tissue damage” to “learned brain/nervous system response.” For example, a large trial showed that participants in PRT increased mind/brain attributions for their pain, which in turn mediated significant reductions in pain intensity. JAMA Network

  • Guided somatic exposure: safely engaging in movements or sensations previously feared, with the therapist helping you reinterpret the body signals as safe rather than threatening. nih.gov+1

  • Cognitive and emotional processing: addressing fear, avoidance, stress, and the pain-fear-pain cycle that reinforces chronic suffering. PubMed+1

Research & Evidence

  • In a randomized clinical trial of 151 adults with primary chronic back pain (no clear structural cause), about 66% of those receiving PRT reported being “pain-free or nearly pain-free” after treatment—versus far fewer in placebo and usual care groups. nih.gov+1

  • The same research found brain imaging (fMRI) changes after PRT: reduced activity in pain-processing regions, consistent with brain ‘un-learning’ pain signals. University of Colorado Boulder+1

  • A review of PRT (in nociplastic pain conditions) concluded that it “enables patients to develop a new understanding of pain and break the pain-fear-pain cycle,” showing significant pain-reduction results. PubMed

  • More broadly, neuroplasticity-focused treatments are becoming recognized as key in chronic pain, and therapies that alter connectivity and brain function hold real promise. PubMed

Benefits of PRT

When you engage in pain reprocessing therapy, you may experience:

  • Significant reduction in pain intensity and interference

  • Decreased fear of movement, improved willingness to engage in activity

  • Improved sleep, energy, mood, and emotional resilience

  • A shift in identity from “I am someone with pain” to “I am someone who has learned and is learning to heal”

  • Long-term changes in how your brain processes sensation, threat, and safety

What to Expect

In your sessions at Power of the Mind Psychology:

  1. We begin with a thorough assessment to understand your pain history, how your nervous system appears to be functioning, and how your thoughts/emotions are contributing.

  2. You’ll receive education about neuroplastic pain, how the brain can mis-interpret safe signals as danger, and how PRT works to reset that system.

  3. You’ll be guided through somatic and mindfulness-based practices, cognitive re-appraisal exercises, and exposure to previously feared or avoided sensations or movements—always at a pace aligned with you.

  4. We’ll monitor changes together: in how you feel, how you move, and how the nervous system is responding. The goal is not just symptom relief, but lasting change in the way your brain interprets and responds to bodily signals.

A Supportive, Evidence-Based, Mind-Body Approach

At Power of the Mind Psychology, we combine the latest neuroscience with warm, compassionate care. Chronic pain can make you feel isolated or frustrated—but you’re not alone, and the brain’s ability to change gives real hope. We’ll walk this journey with you, helping you rebuild trust in your body, your brain, and your capacity to live more fully again.

Ready to Begin?

If you’re ready to explore pain beyond the physical and work toward lasting relief, we’re here to support you.
📞 Call 402-413-5425 or click here to contact us or schedule your appointment.