This interactive two-day course aims to provide health care professionals with the knowledge and skills to run evidence based structured treatment programs for people with pain. The content originates from materials used in chronic pain treatment groups and all materials are suitable for use in one-on-one treatment settings. One aim of this treatment approach is to equip patients with the skills they need to manage their condition and live a meaningful life.

By the end of the course participants will:

• Understand the core principles of Patient Empowered Pain Programmes and a patient-centered approach and therapeutic relationship.
• Be able to select patients who would be appropriate for PEPP interventions and use the appropriate screening tools to assess patients.
• Be familiar with the evidence to support the use of PEPP interventions in the treatment of pain.
• Be able to use the tools associated with these PEPP interventions including:

Pain Education – understanding the neurobiology of persistent pain and being able to explain the mechanisms of pain in lay terms.

Self-management Training – including the use of tools such as the "Protectometer", "Goal-mometer", Activity Scheduling, and various APPs to support the process

Behaviour Change – assessing stages of change and use of skills to facilitate progression between stages

SMART goal setting and how to link these to the patient's core values

Exercise as medicine – be able to design exercise programs according to patient profiles of fear avoiders, catastrophisers and those with low self-efficacy for pain and activity

Mindfulness practices – be able to facilitate a mindfulness practice

Workbooks - Pain Education Empowerment Programme (PEEP) workbooks. Understand how to use them and adapt them to individual settings appropriately.