Featuring Dr. Trevor Schmidt PT, DPT with an introduction and moderation by Les Szasz, LCSW
Clients with chronic pain often fall between “mental” and “physical” care. This talk bridges that gap by explaining how the nervous system interprets threat, safety, emotion, and movement as part of the same system. Using clear, accessible neuroscience and real-world examples, this session shows how counseling and movement-based approaches can work together to calm the body, reduce pain, and restore a sense of safety and agency.
Dr. Schmidt has worked for over 12 years in orthopedic physical therapy with a special focus on how the nervous system and body interact to create pain and healing. Across thousands of patient encounters, he has determined that pain is never just mechanical — it is deeply tied to how the brain interprets threat, safety, and experience. He and Les have collaborated on several patients together.
This program in outline includes:
- Overview of traditional vs modern pain models and why the tissue-damage explanation fails in chronic pain.
- Walk-through of the Pain Neurophysiology Questionnaire to expose and correct common misconceptions.
- Parallels between chronic pain and trauma physiology as described in current pain science and The Body Keeps the Score.
- How education, language, and reframing can down-regulate threat and reduce pain sensitivity.
- Practical physical strategies that restore safety in the body and complement counseling for clients with chronic pain, anxiety, or trauma histories.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Describe how the brain and nervous system shape both emotional and physical pain.
2. Recognize how stress, trauma, and protective behaviors influence muscle tension, posture, and pain.
3. Identify ways that talk-based counseling can calm the body’s threat systems — and how physical movement can, in turn, calm the mind.
4. Describe how physical therapists and mental-health professionals can collaborate to improve outcomes for clients with chronic pain, anxiety, or trauma histories.
Two CEUs will be awarded to attendees who are present for the entire session.