Helping Patients Discover Pathways to Pain Relief

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Frances Sommer Anderson, a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst specializing in the treatment of pain. She discusses the evolution of her approach to treating mind-body pain, which began when she trained with Dr. John Sarno. Key to her practice are making the patient feel safe in their body, understanding the patient’s background and exploring the level of attachment the patient developed from their early childhood. For more information, visit: www.francessommeranderson.com and www.pathwaystopainrelief.com

Frances Sommer Anderson, PhD, SEP, licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst, has treated mind-body pain disorders for forty years, studying closely with the late John E. Sarno, MD, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Rusk Institute—NYU Langone Medical School from 1979 until he retired in 2012. Her treatment of adults who are in pain integrates psychoanalytic theory of attachment with the neuroscience of pain and trauma and includes techniques learned in advanced training in treating trauma.  Recognized internationally for her experiential teaching style, her groundbreaking psychoanalytic publications helped bring the body back into the psychotherapy relationship, reflected in  Relational Perspectives on the Body (Ed. with Lewis Aron, 1998) and Bodies in Treatment (2007).  In 2013, she co-authored with Eric Sherman, PsyD Pathways to Pain Relief, a book of case studies that illustrate how they treat mind-body pain disorders.