LEWISBURG, W.Va. — The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s (WVSOM) Center for Rural and Community Health (CRCH), in collaboration with the Greenbrier County Health Alliance (GCHA), will host a seven-week Chronic Pain Self-Management Workshop beginning Jan. 21.
The free workshop series, which will take place virtually from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. each Thursday through March 4, is open to all community members and designed to help individuals living with chronic pain to manage their symptoms and daily lives. Participants will learn coping skills, gentle movement exercises, healthy eating habits, how to balance activity and rest, ways to manage emotions and stress, how to improve communication with health care providers and relaxation practices to improve sleep. The series also will allow attendees to connect with others with similar experiences.
Barbara Holt, program manager for WVSOM’s CRCH and a master trainer with the program on which the workshops are based, said the series also will be useful for caregivers and loved ones of individuals with chronic pain.
“Sometimes when you live with someone who has pain, you feel helpless because you don’t know how to support them,” Holt said. “This is not just for people who have pain, it’s also for anybody who knows someone who is dealing with it. Participants will learn ways to communicate with the person who has chronic pain and to better understand what they’re going through.”
Holt said that addressing chronic pain is particularly important in West Virginia, where an aging population means an increase in health problems and where alternatives to opioids are being sought for pain management. She said that while the series will include instructional material, it also will be interactive in nature, giving attendees chances to ask questions, talk about individual problems and share ideas with other participants.
“This is a workshop, so everyone participates,” she said. “There will be plenty of brainstorming and feedback from the group. Everybody can offer ideas, and there are no right or wrong answers, because the goal is to come up with the best answer for that person.”
The first session will teach attendees how to participate through the teleconferencing system, with the remaining six sessions devoted to the workshop topic.
The series will be led by Lois McCutcheon and Cheryl Workman, AmeriCorps members who work with the GCHA and the CRCH, respectively. The GCHA is a nonprofit partner of WVSOM’s CRCH, staffed and supported by the CRCH with nonprofit oversight from a community board of local leaders. The alliance works to strengthen systems, policy and environments to advance health equity through grants management, partnerships and collaborations.
The Chronic Pain Self-Management Workshop is an evidence-based program originally developed by Stanford University through the Self-Management Resource Center and currently in use worldwide. WVSOM’s implementation of the program is funded by a State Opioid Response grant through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
Those interested in attending the virtual series may call 304-793-6851 or email self-management@osteo.wvsom.edu to register. Participants will receive a manual and will be asked to fill out a pre-and post-survey. The series can host a maximum of 12 people.
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