Patient Information

-Becky Curtis

>>AS A CHRONIC PAIN SUFFER, WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN YOU...

• Want to stop hurting, but feel that your
  situation is hopeless?
• Want relief from your pain, but hate the fogginess caused by medications?
• Feel that your pain is in control of your entire life?

A PERSONAL BATTLE

In your battle with chronic pain, it can sometimes feel like it’s you against the world. You look for a pill, a surgery, a treatment, a cure. But what if a solution for managing pain was right within your reach and you never knew it until now?

The truth is there are numerous proven (science-based) ways you can improve your experience of pain, loosen its grip, and regain your life. You can start with the necessary tools and a plan to get you there. This is the power of coaching. How do I know? I’ve been there. Let me tell you my story…

>>BECKY'S STORY

In the summer of 2005 a violent rollover car accident in the remote Big Hole Valley of Montana caused a C4 spinal cord injury that almost took my life--TWICE.

First, I faced a fight to stay alive. After recovering from my physical injuries, I faced a second battle: excruciating, unbearable burning, aching nerve pain. My quality of life threatened to disappear forever. My chronic central pain reached its peak two years later. An MRI revealed that I had developed a cyst, called a syrinx, in the center of my spinal cord. It was Inoperable. My only option was to trial different kinds of pain medications. My doctors worked hard to help me find a solution.

The usual nerve pain medications did little if anything to actually give relief. Narcotics didn’t even touch my pain; they just made it harder to cope. I felt trapped in my body and desperately wanted out. Fortunately, my faith stayed with me and I took the courage to move forward with life and look for solutions.

>>HOW COACHING WORKS

Under the vision and leadership of Becky Curtis, Take Courage Coaching (TCC) provides you with solutions. We partner with your physician or insurer to give you information, support, and motivation. Being coached in chronic pain management can help you regain a satisfying and productive life.

Coaching helps you work through the process of self-management, healthy lifestyle choices, increased function, goal setting, and most importantly, a decrease in their experience of pain.

Your personal coach will assess your experience with chronic pain, conduct weekly sessions with you by phone, teach you coping skills and healthy choices for reducing pain, and help you with setting goals. In addition, you will join a group of chronic pain patients in a weekly phone conference where you will gain the encouragement and support of others who understand your struggle, and are learning with you how to manage, reduce, and overcome the challenges of chronic pain.

>>HOW CAN I BE COACHED?

Your physician or insurer can refer you for coaching. Individuals who have a personal interest in coping with pain may also apply.

>>FAQs

Who works with a Coach?

• Anyone who is tired of letting pain be in control.
• Anyone who is willing to learn and practice some simple pain management techniques that make a huge difference in improving the pain experience.
• Take Courage Coaching works nationally with a diverse group of clients: from stay-at-home moms to working professionals, from small-town to city-living residents, with recent accident victims to life time chronic pain sufferers.

What will I be coached on?

You and the coach work together:

• To achieve your goals and develop healthy behavioral habits around stress management, sleep, exercise, nutrition, medication use, relationships and thinking patterns.
• To implement successful non-medical
  pain management strategies that involve,
  relaxation, pacing, selective focus,
  humor and communication.

How will your coach do this?

TCC provides interactive telephonic sessions where your personal coach will help you gain the confidence you need to manage your pain. You bring your questions, your frustrations and concerns; your coach helps you find solutions and find ways to improve your life. When you are taking on a large goal, your coach provides support and structure to keep you motivated. Your coach will strategize with you, expect a lot, and celebrate your successes. Take Courage Coaching wants you to succeed. If you dream of improving your life and are ready to work at it, you can begin to control your pain.

How does group coaching work?

You will be able to network with others who share your experience of pain through group teleconferences. While the coach brings a topic to the meeting and moderates discussions, members exchange ideas and share experiences. Just like a group of friends can understand you—support you, and rally around you—your c hronic pain group understands your challenges, identifies with your experience of pain, and will help you learn better ways to deal with your pain.

How does your coach know what you need?

Every client starts with an assessment so the coach understands your pain, how it affects your daily life, and how ready you are to make some changes and choices that will help decrease the pain experience and regain control of your life. Your coach will help you design a list of goals and a game plan to reach these goals. A welcome to Take Courage Coaching packet contains checklists and assessment materials to make the most of your first meeting. Just as a batting coach can see how a baseball player can improve his swing, your coach will help you identify what is intensifying your pain and give you tools for reducing pain and its hold on you.

>>CONTACT TAKE COURAGE COACHING

Phone:	406/586-0540
Fax:	406/586-0541
Email:	becky@takecouragecoaching.com
Address:	3648 Academy Drive Bozeman, MT 59715