Psychological factors play an important role in an individual’s experience and response to pain and can affect treatment adherence, pain chronicity, and disability status. Patients with chronic pain are at increased risk for psychological distress, maladaptive coping, and physical inactivity related to fear of reinjury. This learning community aims to train participants on evidence modalities to treat the psychological components of chronic pain through pain neuroscience education (PNE), cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain (CBT-CP), acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain (ACT-CP), emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET), and pain reprocessing therapy (PRT).
Stay tuned for session breakdowns.
Kaitlin Touza is a pain psychologist and acting assistant professor at the University of Washington’s Center for Pain Relief. She provides evidence-based individual and group intervention, including CBT, ACT, EAET, and PRT. She also provides consultation to a broad population in the Pacific Northwest region and Alaska through UW’s TelePain program. Kaitlin is fellowship trained at Stanford in clinical pain psychology and is committed to multidisciplinary care and education in pain management. She is passionate about educational outreach and program development for patients, family members, and healthcare providers, with the goal of improving access to specialized multidisciplinary pain management in rural and underserved populations. She believes in a patient-centered, evidence-based, and biopsychosocial approach to intervention, program development, and assessment.
Bethany Pester is a pain psychologist and acting assistant professor at the University of Washington’s Center for Pain Relief. Her patient-centered approach incorporates evidence-based psychological treatments for chronic pain, such as CBT, ACT, EAET, and PRT, while partnering with each patient to understand their unique needs and tailor treatment accordingly. Bethany has collaborated with research teams at UW/Seattle Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical System, Medical University of South Carolina, and academic medical centers across Michigan to study biopsychosocial approaches to understand, treat, and prevent acute and chronic pain. She is passionate about advancing research to better understand these complex conditions and translate discoveries into effective personalized treatments for children, adolescents, and adults.
Eric Wanzel is a masters-level therapist at the University of Washington’s Center for Pain Relief. Eric has a special interest in the intersections between chronic pain and PTSD and provides evidence-based interventions to this population including CBT, ACT, PRT, CPT, PE, and WET. He received his foundational training at the State University of New York and specialized training with the Neuro Orthopaedic Institute Australasia (i.e. noigroup) in pain neuroscience education and graded motor imagery. Eric strives to provide whole person and multidisciplinary healthcare to underserved populations in addition to educational outreach and training for healthcare providers.
Elisabeth Powelson is trained in anesthesia and pain medicine and treats patients at the University of Washington’s Center for Pain Relief and Harborview Medical Center. Additionally, she is an acting assistant professor in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and a T32 Research Fellow at the Pediatric and Sleep Innovations Lab. She has a special interest in post-traumatic pain, PTSD, and pain in older adults. She believes that pain treatment requires a comprehensive multimodal approach and focuses on a partnership with her patients to improve their overall wellness and improve their quality of life.
Physicians, physician assistants, primary care ARNPs, psychologists, and other health care providers may be eligible for CME or CEUs for completing the course. Retain your Certificate of Completion and verify its suitability for CME/CEUs with your licensing/credentialing entity. The University of Washington is an approved provider of continuing education for DOH licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, licensed marriage and family therapists, psychologists, substance use disorder professionals, nurses and physicians under the provisions of: WAC 246-809-610, WAC 246-809-620, WAC 246-811-200, WAC 246-840-210, WAC 246-919-460 and WAC 246-924-240.
