Just announced: 2023 training dates

The next training is slated for March-April 2023! Details on applying are below.

Support group trainings

All Pain Connection support group leaders are required to attend an in-depth training. The trainings are conducted in an accessible, compassionate environment, designed with patients in mind.

The trainings help empower support group leaders to kickstart effective, evidence-based support groups with an emphasis on education. (Leaders are provided with ongoing assistance in running their groups via monthly conference calls.)

The trainings are led by Gwenn Herman, LCSW, DCSW, Clinical Director of Pain Connection, and Cindy Steinberg, National Director of Policy and Advocacy for U.S. Pain Foundation and a longtime support group leader. Both Cindy and Gwenn live with pain themselves.

Sign up for the Spring 2023 training

Deadline to apply for the Spring 2023 Training is February 20, 2023.

Next training

The next chronic pain support group training will be held virtually via Zoom meetings over a five-week period from March 14 to April 13, 2023. (We will not meet the week of April 3.) The training sessions will be each Tuesday and Thursday from 2-4:00 pm ET. We look forward to welcoming a new group of leaders!

CLICK HERE TO APPLY >>

Deadline to apply for the Spring 2023 Training is February 20, 2023. 

Past trainings

Pain Connection hosts 1-2 trainings a year in different parts of the country. Learn more about past trainings.

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At the trainings, attendees learn about:

  • The logistics of running a successful group
  • The Pain Connection group model
  • Empowering group members to utilize their own internal healing abilities
  • The psychosocial stages of pain and grief
  • Incorporating complementary health approaches and other strategies for pain (such as cognitive reframing, acupressure, self-massage, breathing techniques)
  • Developing Treatment Tree Plans and Relapse Prevention Plans

Fees

For general applicants, the fee for training is $400.

Scholarships are available to U.S. Pain volunteers who have been signed up for at least three months.

Scholarships

Sue Ann Stelfox Pain Connection Training Scholarships are available to U.S. Pain volunteers who have been signed up for three months or more.

For in-person trainings, the scholarship includes the cost of the training, your hotel stay, Saturday and Sunday breakfast and lunch, and $500 toward travel costs. 

For virtual trainings, the scholarship includes the cost of the training.

To learn more about Sue Ann Stelfox, read the scholarship announcement.

Questions? Email us!