Episode 71: Pain & Identity - Practical Ways to Rebuild the Self

Pain can steal roles, confidence, and connection. Tim and Bart explore how to spot identity loss and how to guide patients toward a values-led, reconstructed sense of self using language, movement, small wins, and co-created experiments. Why identity matters: chronic pain often causes biographical disruption—a break in the story of “who I am.” Neuro/psycho frame: predictive processing and the “model of me”—how ongoing threat can dominate self-inference. Clinician toolkit: Narrative reframing (precision over catastrophising). Values clarification (ACT-informed prompts that patients can actually answer). Small wins & the Three Gifts practice to re-evidence competence and joy. Co-creation & teams to expand the landscape of affordances. Vignettes: CRPS-style limb disownership language; makeup/hair example as “new me” exploration. Micro-experiments: safe, graded role re-entries across movement, connection, work, and creativity. Resources Mentioned: Le Pub Scientifique Free Membership (includes Sleep Clinical Action Plan). Prior conversations with Lance McCracken, Laura Rathbone, Bronnie Lennox Thompson (in the Le Pub library). Connect & Subscribe: Le Pub Scientifique—free membership for clinicians & people living with pain. Share the episode if it helped you or your patients.   #chronicpain #identity #ACT #physiotherapy #values #predictiveprocessing #CPPS #CRPS #narrativereframing #rehab