At the start of this year two of our expert patients set up a ‘graduate group’ following their completion of the Community Pain Services’ Pain Management Programme (PMP). They described their motivation for setting up the group as “When we completed the PMP we didn’t want it to end, we bonded with others in the group and wanted to carry on the good work of the clinic”.
The group runs fortnightly in a community venue and is open to anyone who has completed the PMP within the service. They have utilised their expertise and the knowledge they gained from the programme in order to help others continue practising the self-management skills which they learnt on the course. Although they act as the group’s coordinators they also encourage attendees to utilise their strengths and skills by taking roles within the group. They strive to provide a positive and uplifting environment where people can “feel a part of something” and gain support from others who have a shared understanding of living with chronic pain. The group also provides an important social aspect, as individuals living with chronic pain can often feel isolated.
On the success of the group they shared “I think what’s great is that everybody’s there for everyone else and we support each other and there is a common understanding that we’re all in chronic pain” and “It’s become more than just coming to the group, it has established meaningful friendships”.
The group has been an incredible success and they described their best hopes for the future as “to continue expanding and running successfully”.
On their experiences of setting up the group they shared “it’s giving back into the community which is rewarding, it has given us a sense of purpose and allowed us to feel valued and make a difference to other people’s lives”.
A huge thank you from the team at the Community Pain Service for their proactivity in setting up a fantastic group which provides an important community resource we can work collaboratively with to support individuals to live well despite chronic pain.
The group runs fortnightly in a community venue and is open to anyone who has completed the PMP within the service. They have utilised their expertise and the knowledge they gained from the programme in order to help others continue practising the self-management skills which they learnt on the course. Although they act as the group’s coordinators they also encourage attendees to utilise their strengths and skills by taking roles within the group. They strive to provide a positive and uplifting environment where people can “feel a part of something” and gain support from others who have a shared understanding of living with chronic pain. The group also provides an important social aspect, as individuals living with chronic pain can often feel isolated.
On the success of the group they shared “I think what’s great is that everybody’s there for everyone else and we support each other and there is a common understanding that we’re all in chronic pain” and “It’s become more than just coming to the group, it has established meaningful friendships”.
The group has been an incredible success and they described their best hopes for the future as “to continue expanding and running successfully”.
On their experiences of setting up the group they shared “it’s giving back into the community which is rewarding, it has given us a sense of purpose and allowed us to feel valued and make a difference to other people’s lives”.
A huge thank you from the team at the Community Pain Service for their proactivity in setting up a fantastic group which provides an important community resource we can work collaboratively with to support individuals to live well despite chronic pain.
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