In this issue of my email newsletter, read reviews of my new book Reversing Chronic Pain and learn how to join me on the phone for live teleseminars on the subjects covered in my book.

Also in this issue, I offer you more results from cutting edge research into chronic pain and the most effective ways to address it.

In the US, we will soon be celebrating Thanksgiving. Regardless of where you are in the world, I hope you find many reasons for gratitude and thanksgiving during the coming holiday season.

Warmest Wishes,

I am enjoying getting feedback from many of you who have bought Reversing Chronic Pain and have started using the tools for yourselves, or with your clients or loved ones. There are now two reviews that have been posted on Amazon. If any of you would be willing to add your own comments and recommendations to that site, I would be very grateful.

Here are the two current Amazon reviews:

"Reversing Chronic Pain" is a Must Read, November 8, 2007
By David Kannerstein (Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania)
Psychologist Maggie Phillips' new book,"Reversing Chronic Pain," is an absolutely indispensible resource for anyone suffering with chronic pain or anyone working with those who are. There are many things to love about this book, but I will focus on just a few. She manages to clearly and concisely explain the relationships between the mind and the body and between pain and negative emotions without oversimplifying--a major achievement. She also identifies the power of words to add to or alleviate the trauma of pain, as when she discusses the difference between words like "psychosomatic" and "mind-body" or between "self-treatment" and "rest." Perhaps most importantly for those suffering with chronic pain, she introduces an amazing variety of approaches to working with pain -- psychological techniques (guided imagery), meditation, body and energy therapies, nutritionals, and medications. Quite simply, this is one of the best self-help books for working with chronic pain that I have ever read. BUY THIS BOOK!

Reversing Chronic Pain, November 5, 2007
By Sheila Kolenc
I suffer from chronic back pain and was searching for ways to deal with it other than pain medication or surgery. I was fortunate enough to be told by a psychotherapist about Maggie Phillips and her "Reversing Chronic Pain" book. Dr. Phillips has the gift of insight into how the body, mind and spirit work together in pain management. It is easy to understand and in a 'makes sense' kind of way, she has taught me that my body wants to heal and has provided the tools needed to tap into this healing power. The techniques I learned will be useful throughout my life for other chronic pain I may face.
Sheila

If you are willing to add a brief review, please click here and then scroll down to the Customer Reviews section where there is the option to "create your own review."

Teleseminars provide several important benefits for those of you who have not tried them:

• They require only the use of the telephone. People who are in significant emotional or physical distress often have difficulty with internet technology. This format is a great equalizer and provides relatively easy access.
• Many people feel that teleseminars offer a more intimate connection with the speaker and other participants vs. online learning .
• These telephone sessions provide immediate answers to questions which can accelerate the integration of learning.
• Teleseminars allow for more interactive learning. To find out more about how interactive learning can be life changing, click here. (If you are a professional who treats pain, click here).

1. Wednesday, November 28 at 6 pm Pacific time, 9 pm Eastern time; Thursday, November 29, 12 pm Australian time
2. Wednesday, December 12 at 9 am Pacific time, 12 pm Eastern time, 6 pm (18:00) European/ South African time
3. Wednesday, January 23 at 9 am Pacific time, 12 pm Eastern time, 6 pm (18:00) European/South African time

I recently had the opportunity to present my work at the first international conference on Somatic Experiencing held in Berkeley, California. This important method has influenced my work in the areas of trauma and mindbody healing for the last 30 years. I came away from the conference believing even more strongly that emotional and physical pain (and other symptoms) related to past trauma can ONLY be resolved by working through the body to re-regulate the nervous system response. I have had the best success beginning with tools that intervene with basic body rhythms at the reptilian brain/polyvagal nervous system level. These include breathing and tapping techniques. To learn more, click here.

I want to share with you two interesting articles on pain that recently appeared in Medscape, an online journal. The first one, released on September 20, explored the issue of the standard 0-10 pain intensity or SUD (subjective units of distress) scale commonly used to evaluate pain levels. The authors conclude that this type of subjective pain rating may only be moderately accurate in screening patients for further treatment. However, this 0-10 pain scale is considered valid among patients with pre-diagnosed pain conditions. So the 0-10 scale is still considered to be useful for treatment purposes once a persistent or chronic pain condition has been identified.

Our ongoing challenge is to identify a method of measuring pain levels in patients who have not been diagnosed but are clearly evolving into a chronic condition. The authors suggest the trial of a pain scale related to function: 0= does not interfere at all with functioning - 10= interferes completely with general activity, mood, normal work, relationships with others, sleep, and enjoyment of life). My impression is that this type of scale may give more useful clinical information, so I have started using this along with the 0-10 intensity scale.

The other article, "Guidelines for Management of Low Back Pain" appeared in the October 2 edition of Medscape. The study cited suggested that individuals with back pain, the most common type of pain in the US, be classified into 3 categories: a) nonspecific low back pain, b) back pain associated with specific structural problems like spinal stenosis, or c) back pain associated with another specific spinal cause. The first type of intervention is education on pain and self-care options, then pharmacology used in combination with self and back-care education. If self-care does not prove to be effective, interdisciplinary rehabilitation is recommended including yoga, acupuncture, massage therapy, and other modalities. For more information about interdisciplinary rehabilitation, click here.

If you are starting to think ahead about holiday gifts to those you care about, you may want to consider the gift of my book, Reversing Chronic Pain. Please click here to order.

Between now and December 26, if you order a book as a gift and email us the receipt along with the gift recipient's name and email address, we will send them free access to the first module of our new Reversing Chronic Pain website which is in the process of coming online. This interactive gift will help the person you have gifted to maximize their success with the RCP self-treatment program. If you have questions about this gift program, please contact my assistant at assistant@maggiephillipsphd.com.

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