Complex Bodies, Complex Care
A Comprehensive Approach to Treating Chronic Pain & Illness
Complex Bodies, Complex Care is a 4-part training series designed to help clinicians more effectively support clients living with chronic pain and illness.
6/12/26 — Module 1: Complex Systems, Foundational Care — The Neuroscience of Pain & Illness
6/19/26 — Module 2: Complex Lives, Compassionate Care — The Lived Experience of Chronic Pain & Illness
7/3/26 — Module 3: Complex Needs, Practical Care — Somatic and Experiential Interventions
7/31/26 — Module 4: Complex Care, Ethical Practice — Ethics, Systems, and Clinical Responsibility
This series integrates neuroscience, somatic awareness, and experiential approaches to deepen understanding of how chronic pain and illness impact the nervous system, identity, and daily functioning. Participants will explore the complex relationship between physical and mental health, including the role of stress, trauma, neurodivergence, and systemic factors in shaping client experiences.
Beyond theory, this training emphasizes practical, applicable skills. Clinicians will learn from Katie Casey (a therapist with lived-experience of chronic health issues) on how to conceptualize cases, provide meaningful psychoeducation, and implement interventions that are flexible, ethical, and responsive to client capacity. Each session includes opportunities for discussion, reflection, and experiential learning to support integration into real-world clinical practice.
Whether you attend one session or the full series, you will leave with a deeper understanding of this population and concrete tools to provide more attuned, effective care.
Why this Matters…
Many clinicians are trained to treat mental health, but not how to work with clients whose bodies don’t cooperate.
Chronic pain and illness often sit at the intersection of physical health, trauma, nervous system dysregulation, and identity. Clients may present with complex, overlapping symptoms that don’t fit neatly into traditional treatment models. As a result, clinicians can feel stuck, unsure how to help, or worried about doing harm.
At the same time, many individuals living with chronic pain and illness report feeling misunderstood, dismissed, or even retraumatized in both medical and mental health settings.
This gap matters.
Without a clear framework, treatment can unintentionally reinforce shame, push clients beyond their capacity, or overlook the very real limitations they are navigating. With the right understanding, however, therapy can become a space of validation, regulation, and meaningful change.
This series is designed to help bridge that gap. Which offers clinicians a way to understand, conceptualize, and work with chronic pain and illness that is grounded in neuroscience, informed by lived experience, and applicable in real clinical settings.
Learning Objectives
Explain the neurobiological mechanisms underlying acute and chronic pain, including the roles of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Differentiate between nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic pain and their implications for clinical treatment.
Describe the impact of chronic stress and HPA axis activation on pain perception, inflammation, and nervous system regulation.
Identify the components of the chronic pain cycle, including fear-avoidance, catastrophizing, and deconditioning.
Apply foundational neuroscience concepts to client psychoeducation to support understanding and reduce shame.
Describe the psychological, emotional, and identity-related impacts of chronic pain and illness on daily functioning.
Recognize the effects of medical trauma, systemic barriers, and ableism on client experiences and treatment engagement.
Identify the ways chronic pain and illness impact cognitive functioning, sleep, mood, and interpersonal relationships.
Analyze the interaction between neurodivergence, trauma, and chronic pain in shaping client presentation.
Demonstrate relational and validation-based strategies that support therapeutic alliance with chronic illness populations.
Demonstrate somatic and nervous system-based interventions to support regulation and pain management.
Apply cognitive and behavioral strategies to address fear-avoidance, catastrophizing, and activity pacing.
Integrate experiential and parts-based techniques to support emotional processing and body awareness.
Modify interventions to account for client capacity, fatigue, dissociation, and neurodivergence.
Develop individualized, flexible intervention plans for clients with chronic pain and illness.
Identify ethical considerations and scope-of-practice boundaries when treating clients with chronic pain and illness.
Apply principles of duty of care, informed consent, and client safety to intervention selection and pacing.
Evaluate clinical decision-making using case-based scenarios involving complex medical and psychological presentations.
Describe the role of interdisciplinary collaboration and systemic factors in treatment planning.
Develop ethically sound treatment plans that integrate medical, psychological, and contextual considerations.
See below for a break down of each module’s day and how the learning objectives can be applies to each. Katie Casey is the presenter for all modules.
Module 1 — 6/12/26
Complex Systems, Foundational Care
The Neuroscience of Chronic Pain & Illness
Pain Science Foundations
Learning Objectives 1 and 2
Experiential: “What shapes pain?”
Learning Objectives 2 and 5
Neurobiology of Pain
Learning Objective 1
Stress & HPA Axis
Learning Objective 3
Chronic Pain Cyle
Learning Objective 4
Application
Learning Objective 4
Module 2 — 6/19/26
Complex Lives, Compassionate Care
The Lived Experience of Chronic Pain & Illness
Check in + Reflection
Learning Objective 10
Lived Experience of Chronic Pain & Illness + Experiential Practice
Learning Objectives 6 & 8
Identity & Grief
Learning Objective 6
Medical Trauma & Ableism
Learning Objective 7
Neurodivergence, Trauma, & Pain + Skills Practice
Learning Objectives 9 &
Module 3 — 7/3/26
Complex Needs, Practical Care
Somatic and Experiential Interventions for Chronic Pain & Illness
Agenda
Somatic Interventions + Practice
Learning Objective 11
Cognitive & Behavioral Strategies + Practice
Learning Objectives 12 & 15
Parts + Experiential Integration
Learning Objective 13
Modifications + When Things Don’t Work
Learning Objective 14
Module 4 — 7/31/26
Complex Care, Ethical Practice
Ethics, Systems, and Clinical Responsibility
Ethics + Scope of Practice
Learning Objective 16
Duty of care + Consent
Learning Objective 17
Systems + Healthcare Navigation
Learning Objective 19
Case Study + Treatment Planning + Integration
Learning Objectives 18 & 20
Additional Info
Date: This is a 4-part training series. See below for the date of each module
Module 1: Complex Systems, Foundational Care - The Neuroscience of Pain & Illness
Module 2: Complex Lives, Compassionate Care - The Lived Experience of Chronic Pain & Illness
Module 3: Complex Needs, Practical Care - Somatic and Experiential Interventions
Module 4: Complex Care, Ethical Practice - Ethics, Systems, and Clinical Responsibility
Time: Each module will be from 9a-3:30p CST on it’s specific date
Cost:
Full Series (Early Bird before 5/1): $480
Full Series (after 5/1): $525
Full Series for Pre-Licensed/Student Therapist: $380
Single Module(s): $150/training
Single Module(s) (pre-licensed/student therapists): $95/training
While each training can be attended individually with the goal of being practical for attendees, the series is ultimately designed to build a comprehensive framework across all four sessions
CEs Available: 5 CE hrs via NBCC for each training module in the series (for a total of 20 for all modules offered). Abundant Hope Therapy has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7477. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Abundant Hope Therapy is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Upon completion of Module 4, attendees will be granted 5 ethics-focused hours.
