“I play [piano] regularly with a violinist every Wednesday night – my violinist comes with her student to my house and we play two violin and piano duets first. Right now, we are working on the Franck Sonata and it is so much fun! It is so great and I am so happy I can do that! When I am playing and I am passionate, the pain stays in the background enough for me to feel that I am in another world.”

Episode Description: We begin by outlining the nature of chronic pain – how pervasive it is and its association with depression, sleep disorders, obesity, and smoking. We also referenced its link to childhood traumatic events. We review the challenges of finding physicians with expertise in both the medical and the emotional aspects of living with chronic pain. Michele describes her work leading support groups for pain sufferers and the patience needed to allow for the uncovering of internal emotional distress. We end with Michele outlining her recommendations for those with pain, for those who are their caregivers, and finally for those health care providers who care for them. In conclusion Michele shares, with a broad smile, her pain-relieving passion for playing music.

Our Guest: Michele Cohen, LCSW, FIPA, is a psychotherapist/psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City, with an interest in group work as well as in individual adult treatment. She is a graduate of the Psychoanalytic Training Institute of the Contemporary Freudian Society (CFS), and a Fellow of the International Psychoanalytic Association. She is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Contemporary Freudian Society, and has taught in CFS’ Psychoanalytic Training Program, as well as in their 2-year Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program. She has also supervised and taught at the Metropolitan Institute for Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (MITPP).