In this December issue, you will learn more about special training events and resources, the status of my reversing chronic pain online program, and the December 5th teleseminar with Dr. Laurel Parnell on Tapping In and Tapping Through: EMDR Resource Installation with Emotional and Physical Pain. News from the Pain Front this month features common traps with persistent pain and how to avoid them.

Be well and stay well during this holiday season,

Here are five reasons why you should not miss Tapping In and Tapping Through: EMDR Resource Installation with Emotional and Physical Pain with Dr. Laurel Parnell on this coming Friday, December 5, 8:00 am - 9:30 am Pacific Time. Sign up NOW so you don't miss the December 3rd deadline at www.maggiephillipsphd.com/courses_teleseminars_lp.html

1. With so many extra commitments during the holidays. It's easy to feel burned out with no energy left for self-care. Choose this teleseminar to revitalize yourself and get more help with healing chronic pain. Remember, you do not have to attend live. Your fee provides access to 30 days of anytime audio replay for the entire 90 minute seminar.
2. Laurel is an exceptional teacher and healer. There is simply no one better at applying EMDR with the pain of trauma. See why at her website www.emdrinfo.com. Someone said to me recently, "I don't want to get into something so complicated as EMDR this time of year." I was happy to tell her that one of Laurel's gifts is to simplify so that listeners come away with more clarity about EMDR and how it works.
3. We offer high quality information at a reasonable price ($50). This fee includes a study guide and unlimited audio replay for 30 days (through January 5). Please sign up here.
4. Self-empowerment is essential during the most stressful time of year. It's always challenging to work with pain and trauma at any time but holiday pressures make it even more important to be empowered with new tools that are easy and effective. We also invite you to tell us what information is most important to you. If you have a trauma or pain condition, click here to submit your questions and click here if you are a professional who treats these conditions.
5. Reversing Chronic Pain emphasizes self-treatment of pain conditions. Laurel's "Tapping In" model is highly portable. The methods we will present can be used to help with situational stress as well as long-standing difficulties that trigger pain. Don't delay. Go NOW while you're thinking about it to register at www.maggiephillipsphd.com/courses_teleseminars_lp.html (if clicking on the link does not take you to the web page, copy or type the URL directly into your web browser).

The RCP online program has finally emerged from the depths of a technology nightmare. In mounting a multi-media site, we greatly underestimated the myriad of challenges involved. If you haven't checked out the site recently, please go to www.reversingchronicpain.com. Check out the free "mini module" by scrolling down the home "Welcome!" page. All of the material in the ten modules is new (it's different from the Reversing Chronic Pain book). The book also makes a great holiday gift. To order, click here.

Watch your email for a special offer to purchase the 10 module program for the low price of $39.99. We are also including a sign-up bonus of free access to audio downloads for 3 of my most popular teleseminars on pain, at absolutely no cost to you. The free audio downloads are: Dr. Fred Gallo: Using Energy Psychology to Treat Emotional and Physical Pain; Dr. Marty Rossman: How Guided Imagery Opens Healing Pathways for Chronic Pain; and Dr. Neil Fiore: Using Your Strongest Self to Reverse Chronic Pain. If you missed out on these teleseminars, or would like to hear them again, now you can. This is a $150 value and our way of thanking you for your loyalty and patience while the RCP website has been under construction.

I don't usually get involved in recommending specific products but I'm making a couple of exceptions. Donna Eden has released a new book that is excellent, Energy Medicine for Women. If you decide to order a copy and you mention a "Phillips" as the source code, you will receive 20% off. To learn more, go to www.EnergyMedicineForWomen.com.

I also want to recommend Judith Orloff's Complete Intuition Package. Here's a brief description:

We each possess an intuitive healing code within us that contains the blueprints for our health, happiness and survival of everything that is good here on earth. This code is written in a language of silence, metaphor, imagery, energy, and knowings that may seem alien until we are taught to decipher it. As you begin to understand its nuances, its secrets, the code will seem like the most familiar language of all, one you uttered before you ever had a memory of anything material, one that doesn't require a spoken voice to comprehend.

The cost of the Complete Intuition Package is $49.99 for over 10 hours of video that can be played on any computer, ipod, or other portable medial devices. This is perfect for anyone who travels, or for individuals who want an intensive learning experience about various aspects of their intuitive powers, including learning to trust the body and the art of remembering and interpreting dreams. To order, go to www.maggiephillipsphd.com/judithorloff.html.

I often encounter common traps that prevent people from moving forward in their recovery from persistent pain conditions. I hope this information will help you, and those you work with and love, to avoid common pitfalls.

Trap #1: Resistance. Most of us believe that resistance is a negative. However, I have found that we can always learn from resistance. Just recently, I was talking with a client about her "resistance" to trusting that her progress was real and would last. Although she felt very judgmental about this lack of trust in herself, I pointed out that this barrier would help her to recognize when she achieved wholeness because when ALL of her trusted her progress, she would no longer feel conflicted about it. For another client who encountered resistance to practicing some of her pain regulation tools, we discovered that her lack of momentum communicated to us that a recent health complication deserved her full attention on rest and healing. That basic focus, we decided, was far more important than how many exercises she practiced. Solution: Respect and learn from resistance.

Trap #2: Going solo. When we are in pain, we are least likely to want to reach out to others. We feel isolated and alone. We don't believe that others will understand our pain. We hide out, angry and depressed at our lack of connection. Solution: You cannot recover alone. Collaborate with others. Ask someone you respect how he or she forges and maintains connections. Make an overt commitment to changing your isolation. Research shows that when we make a public pledge, we are more likely to change.

Trap #3: Fear. Anxiety, fear, and panic are frequent companions to emotional and physical pain. Sudden changes in pain can trigger fears about success in managing pain, as well as about failure to manage it. Solution: Know that fear is a normal part of the change process. Re-envision your fear as energy, which can be mobilized to help you change. When you feel fear, you can also use it as an opportunity to create more safety for yourself. For some people, it's good to use a tool to reduce the anxiety, such as bilateral tapping (see the Laurel Parnell seminar above), Energy Psychology, hypnosis, Somatic Experiencing, or imagery. Then your pain self-treatment techniques will be more effective.

Trap #4: Reaching Too Far. Recovering from pain can feel like hard work with little reward. It can be very hard to figure out whether you're working hard enough or attempting to change too much at once. Solution: If you feel stuck or you find you are not making progress after a week or two on a particular goal, break it down into smaller steps. Find one aspect of a change that all of you can say "yes" to. Then make sure to reward your progress.

Trap #5: Shame, Blame, and Denial. There's nothing harder than confronting your vulnerabilities. How do you protect yourself from getting to know them so you can learn from or resolve them? Reactions of shame, blame and denial often prevent us from exploring aspects of ourselves that are less well known, especially those parts that we most fear. Solution: Learn about your strengths. Explore your strengths as a counterbalance to vulnerabilities.

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