Chronic Pain Ireland

Chronic Pain Self-Management Course
2023-05-15 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-05-08 14:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Dublin)
Chronic Pain Ireland is holding our 5-week Self-Management Course for people living with chronic pain. This 5 session course is delivered online over a 5 week period and is a 2 hour session. The course focusses and looks at key ideas in the self-management of chronic pain and encourages participants to explore ways to both manage their condition and cope better. The course offers a special kind of flexible interactive experience in which questions, feedback, discussion and mutual support are an important part of the process.
There are key topics that will always be covered and there is a ‘direction of travel’ (per topics listed) but the exact order in which topics are discussed and the focus given to each area, depends on the needs and interests of the group at the time. The course is delivered in a non-linear way such that topics overlap and ‘inform’ each other. A good example would be how Pacing for instance requires that we also look at the effects of stress, beliefs
and issues around acceptance.
The topics covered during the course will be:

Introduction – in which participants will be asked what they want to achieve and a big picture of pain management is shared including an explanation of the bio-psycho-social model
Understanding chronic pain
Boom-Bust, Pacing, Baselines, goal setting
Stress awareness and management ideas, breaking the pain stress cycle
Anxiety
Sleep
Social aspects
Acceptance & emotions
Flare ups

Live notes from each session will be e-mailed along with more formal pre-prepared materials including audio recordings for relaxation practice. This means that people wanting to explore a focus specifically on a topic can do so in-between sessions and the sessions can help explain things
further and deal with questions and challenges.
Facilitator for this programme is the Lead Trainer of Pain Association of Scotland, Phil Sizer who has delivered thousands of workshops throughout Ireland and the UK and is the author of Chronic Pain, the drug free way which is available from your local library or via amazon.co.uk. Chronic Pain Ireland has for many years offered self-management training for all living with chronic pain and are partnering with the Pain Association Scotland, who (having pioneered the development and delivery of self-management training) have run community programmes for over 20 years. Both CPI and PAS share mutual aims of helping to improve the quality of life for all living with chronic pain.
Please note the above course is only offered to members of Chronic Pain Ireland at no additional cost. For information about taking out membership to Chronic Pain Ireland see here

Aspida Workshop - Limerick
2023-05-13 11:00 - 15:00
ASpida: Against Stigma Pain pain intervention development approach

ASpida is an innovative community-based program that aims to tackle the effects of stigma in chronic pain.
University College Cork researchers in conjunction with Chronic Pain Ireland used direct input from our members to developed this programme are now offering you the opportunity to take part in our pilot workshops. Taking place initially in five counties across Ireland (Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Kerry and Limerick) the workshops will be delivered by two facilitators one of whom is a trained CPI member who has been involved with this research from the start. Each half day workshop will help you learn skills to act mindfully, respond flexibly and with awareness to stigmatised behaviours, be guided by values not stigma.

Please register your interest and get involved as your feedback is invaluable. We aim to offer this evidence-based health care service throughout 2024 to a wider audience. Register HERE
Our sincere thanks to all members who were involved in every step of the creation of this project which was funded by the Brain, Mind and Pain Patient-Centred Innovation Grant.
If you want to learn a little more about the project our recognizing and coping with stigma – a silent enemy event was held earlier this month and the recording can be watched back HERE

ASpida Workshop Cork
2023-05-13 11:00 - 15:00

ASpida Workshop - Dublin
2023-05-10 17:30 - 21:00 | Trinity College Dublin

CPI Members Network meeting
2023-05-09 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-04-11 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-03-14 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-02-14 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-01-10 11:00 - 12:00
Each month CPI holds our peer to peer network meetings which are facilitated by our current Chairperson. It’s a safe, inclusive space to meet others, to chat, share and support each other. Our membership feedback regularly mentions the importance of speaking with others where they can chat openly without judgement and connect with others.
This event is open to members of Chronic Pain Ireland and if you would like to join, membership is €22.00 per year. See here for more details.
Many of our members have formed life long friendships as a result of attending CPI events, workshops and taking part in research. Please, consider becoming part of our community.

UCD Research with VR-Pain Project Workshop
2023-05-08 10:00 - 15:00 | University College Cork Physiotherapy School
This Monday, CPI Members will attend a workshop organised by UCD Researchers so that additional feedback on virtual reality scenarios they are developing to support student education about pain can be given.
The VR-PAIN project aims to improve pain science clinical reasoning skills in Physiotherapy Programmes in three universities across Europe by developing virtual reality scenarios.
As part of the development process for three new virtual reality scenarios we are seeking feedback from people living with chronic pain (pain for more than 6 months) on the content and format of the case studies.

Aspida Workshop - Dublin
2023-05-06 11:00 - 15:00

Workshop: Confidence & Self-Esteem
2023-04-21 14:00 - 16:00
A Chronic Pain Self-Management Workshop addressing confidence and self-esteem. A lack of self- esteem often blocks us from looking after ourselves. This issue is a major block to managing health, because if you don’t value something you don’t look after it!
The online session will look at:

Your version of yourself/self image vs others
Old rules
Effects of change
Gap between self-image vs ideal
Closing the gap
Do vs are
A surprising quiz

Chronic Pain Ireland has for many years offered self-management training for all living with chronic pain and are partnering with the Pain Association Scotland, who (having pioneered the development and delivery of self-management training) have run community programmes for over 20 years. Both CPI and PAS share mutual aims of helping to improve the quality of life for all living with chronic pain. The focus of these interactive workshops is therefore on introducing people to, and quickly building, self-management skills, thereby creating practical, positive change leading to an improved quality of life and well-being.
These workshops are offered to members of Chronic Pain Ireland only. If you would like to become a member and avail of all our chronic pain support services including: self-management workshops, telephone support line, chronic pain courses and programmes, online meetings, webinars and networking opportunities – Join here

Recognizing and Coping with Stigma: A silent enemy
2023-03-16 19:00 - 19:45
Recognizing and Coping with Stigma: A silent enemy with Dr Vasilis Vasiliou and Research team from the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork. Living with chronic pain we regularly experience stigma, but what do we mean by that?
Laoise has been struggling to understand what makes her feel tense whenever she had to talk to her bosses. She had to always explain to them the reasons for abstaining from work, due to the chronic pain. Yet, she was always getting back a sense of “not feeling believed” or doubting herself. This is a typical example of stigma.
Individuals with chronic physical illnesses in Ireland frequently report these types of stigmatized behaviours, coming from others. Often, individuals who experience stigma do not recognize what does and does not entail stigma, but afterward, they experience its impact – a sense of doubt, low mood, lack of motivation, reluctance to ask for something, guilt, and avoidance.
In this brief online workshop researchers from the School of Applied Psychology at the University College Cork will provide examples of stigma. They will also discuss some ways for people to identify and respond to stigma so that it does not impact them. Finally, they will present a new service that has been developed in partnership with Chronic Pain Ireland (CPI) for our members, focusing on stigma prevention and alleviation.
We hope that you will join us on March 16th at 7:00 p.m. for this live Teams event. Please note as this is live, you cannot register in advance so put the date in your calendar and save this link https://bit.ly/3SHnzxt

Brain Awareness Week 2023
2023-03-13 - 2023-03-19
Brain Awareness Week aims to promote greater awareness and understanding of the brain and brain conditions as well as highlighting the need for more investment in services, research & prevention. The campaign is an annual event, co-ordinated by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI).
Did you know that between 20-40% of all people with a neurological condition will experience chronic pain.
As a member of the NAI and a proud campaign partner, Chronic Pain Ireland will be holding a live event on March 16th supporting #BrainAwarenessWeek2023 and the overall theme of #InvestInBrainHealth.
For more on Brain Awareness Week, visit the Loveyourbrain website. For more on the live CPI event check out our calendar of events.

Workshop: Dealing with Stress & Anxiety
2023-03-03 14:00 - 16:00
During this two hour workshop we explore the following:

Stress as nature’s defence system
Anxiety as nature’s radar
How stress and anxiety relate to each other
Pain stress cycle
Eustress and distress
Signs of stress
Stealth stress
4p’s approach
Working with pattern interrupts
Relaxation technique

This workshop is delivered by an experienced CPI/PAS facilitator who has over two decades of experience having delivered over 10,000 workshops. This workshop is delivered free of charge to members of Chronic Pain Ireland.
About our workshops. Chronic Pain Ireland has a long history of providing an excellent, accessible range of workshops. During the pandemic we changed our delivery model to include online workshops on specific topics identified by our members as areas where they needed additional support. In 2022 we formalised our partnership with the Pain Association of Scotland in order to expand and diversify our online specialist education, training and support in the self-management of chronic pain. Both charities have decades of expertise in the delivery of interactive workshops using a person-centred approach which engages and motivates people to adopt new ways of thinking, based on a better understanding of their health and themselves. Indeed, the Pain Association of Scotland pioneered the development and delivery of self-management training for those burdened with Chronic Pain.
This unique model of community-based education and support programmes has been developed to improve quality of life and well-being and is based on the Bio-Psycho-Social model of health. This explores the impacts of a change in health and seeks ways to address any mal-adaptations that can often develop.
Workshops are available to CPI members only. If you would like to join Chronic Pain Ireland and avail of all our supports register here

How does the brain and nervous system produce pain?
2023-02-28 17:00 - 18:00
Join us as we explore this topic which helps lay the foundation for understanding how chronic pain is managed. Meet Dr. Evan Parks, Clinical Psychologist at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, adjunct assistant professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Evan helps people get the information they need to manage chronic pain by providing neuroscience education in everyday language in his book, “Chronic Pain Rehabilitation: Active pain management that helps you get back to the life you love.” He is the host of the Pain Rehab Podcast and a writer for Psychology Today on pain rehabilitation.

Event concluded: Check out our online video library to watch back.

Workshop: Managing Flare Ups
2023-02-15 18:00 - 20:00
Dealing with Flare Ups (episodes of intense pain / symptoms). Flare–ups are unusually painful episodes (or episodes of high symptom incidence) that eventually settle down and go away. The experience of a flare–up is physically and emotionally harrowing.
In addition to heightened pain and fatigue, many people are frightened, puzzled, frustrated, angry, panicky and desperate.
Throughout this 2-hour interactive workshop we explore the following:

Flare ups and understanding why they happen
Analysing how we experience them
High speed pain stress cycle
Exploring and creating a plan to help

This workshop is delivered by an experienced CPI/PAS facilitator who has over two decades of experience having delivered over 10,000 workshops. This workshop is delivered free of charge to members of Chronic Pain Ireland.
About our workshops. Chronic Pain Ireland has a long history of providing an excellent, accessible range of workshops. During the pandemic we changed our delivery model to include online workshops on specific topics identified by our members as areas where they needed additional support. In 2022 we formalised our partnership with the Pain Association of Scotland in order to expand and diversify our online specialist education, training and support in the self-management of chronic pain. Both charities have decades of expertise in the delivery of interactive workshops using a person-centred approach which engages and motivates people to adopt new ways of thinking, based on a better understanding of their health and themselves. Indeed, the Pain Association of Scotland pioneered the development and delivery of self-management training for those burdened with Chronic Pain.
This unique model of community-based education and support programmes has been developed to improve quality of life and well-being and is based on the Bio-Psycho-Social model of health. This explores the impacts of a change in health and seeks ways to address any mal-adaptations that can often develop.
Workshops are available to CPI members only. If you would like to join Chronic Pain Ireland and avail of all our supports register here
