CHRONIC PAIN THERAPY IN ETOBICOKE & ACROSS ONTARIO
Your pain is real—even when nobody else can see it. You've probably tried a lot.
Doctors. Specialists. Tests. Medications. Physiotherapy. Exercises. Lifestyle changes.
Maybe some things helped. Maybe nothing lasted. Maybe you're still trying to figure out exactly what's causing your symptoms. And somewhere along the way, you've become exhausted from explaining yourself.
Because you can look completely fine and still be in pain. You can go to work while hurting. You can take care of your kids while hurting. You can smile, have a conversation and get through the day while privately wondering how you're going to make it through the next few hours. And when people can't see what you're experiencing, it can feel like you're constantly having to prove that it's real.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PROVE YOUR PAIN TO ME.
I'm Marlo Drago, a Registered Social Worker offering therapy for adults living with chronic pain, persistent pain and pain-related emotional distress virtually across Ontario and in person in Etobicoke. My approach isn't about telling you that your pain is “all in your head.” It isn't about telling you to think positively. And it isn't about asking you to simply push through. Therapy can be one part of a broader approach to living with chronic pain—alongside appropriate medical and physical healthcare.
CHRONIC PAIN AFFECTS MORE THAN YOUR BODY
Living with ongoing pain can change almost everything. You may find yourself:
• Exhausted from constantly managing symptoms.
• Frustrated that other people don't understand.
• Anxious about when the next flare will happen.
• Grieving the things you used to be able to do.
• Worrying about what your future will look like.• Feeling guilty when you need to cancel plans.
• Struggling to ask other people for help.
• Becoming increasingly isolated.
• Feeling like your identity has started to revolve around pain.
• Feeling hyperaware of every change in your body.
• Trying to appear “normal” because you're tired of explaining.
• Feeling angry, discouraged or overwhelmed.
None of these mean your pain isn't physical.
They are part of the very real emotional and practical burden that can come with living with persistent pain.
WHAT IF I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT NOTHING IS WRONG?
You may have had normal or inconclusive tests. You may not have a clear diagnosis. You may have been told that stress or anxiety could be contributing. You may have left appointments feeling dismissed, misunderstood or embarrassed for asking for help. You may even have started questioning yourself.
“Am I imagining this?”
“Why doesn't anyone believe me?”
“If the tests don't show it, what does that mean?”
Therapy isn't a replacement for medical investigation or treatment. You deserve appropriate medical care for your physical symptoms. Therapy can provide a different kind of support: a place to talk honestly about what living with pain is doing to your life, your relationships, your emotions and your sense of yourself.
WHAT IF I'M TIRED OF BEING TOLD TO “CHANGE MY MINDSET”?
You don't have to pretend you're positive about being in pain.
You don't have to convince yourself that pain is actually good for you.
And you don't have to pretend something doesn't hurt.
Our work can instead focus on questions like:
“How do I live a meaningful life when my body doesn't always cooperate?”
“How do I respond to difficult symptoms without becoming completely consumed by them?”
“How do I cope with uncertainty?”
“How do I communicate what I need to the people around me?”
“How do I grieve what has changed without giving up on the life I still want?”
THE ROLE OF THERAPY IN CHRONIC PAIN
Pain is complex.
It can involve physical, psychological, social and environmental factors, and different people experience persistent pain differently.
Therapy does not determine the medical cause of your pain.
Instead, our work may focus on the emotional and psychological impact of living with pain.
Depending on your goals, we may work on:• Coping with the emotional impact of pain• Reducing the struggle around symptoms• Boundaries and communication• Identity and loss• Relationships• Trauma and distressing experiences
EMDR AND CHRONIC PAIN
EMDR is best established as a treatment for PTSD and trauma-related difficulties.
There is also emerging research exploring EMDR and other psychological approaches in relation to chronic pain.
In my practice, I may consider EMDR when there are specific distressing experiences, memories, fears or trauma-related symptoms that are relevant to your current difficulties.
EMDR isn't automatically appropriate simply because you have chronic pain.
SOMATIC AND BODY-INFORMED THERAPY
Living with chronic pain can make you feel disconnected from your body—or intensely focused on every sensation.
Somatic approaches can give us a way to explore your experience of your body with curiosity rather than judgment.
We don't use this work to tell you that your symptoms are imaginary.
And we don't use it as a substitute for medical care.
POLYVAGAL-INFORMED THERAPY
I sometimes use Polyvagal Theory as one framework for understanding experiences such as activation, overwhelm, shutdown and difficulty settling.
It's one lens among several—not an explanation for the medical cause of your pain.
I UNDERSTAND THAT CHRONIC PAIN CAN CHANGE YOUR WHOLE LIFE.
I'm also someone who lives with chronic pain.
I have personal experience with chronic migraine, fibromyalgia and myofascial pain, including a period when pain significantly affected my ability to work and function.
That experience doesn't make me an expert on your particular pain.
Your experience is your own.
But it does mean I understand something about how exhausting it can be to navigate appointments, uncertainty, limitations and the emotional weight that can come with persistent symptoms.
And I know that being listened to matters.
WHO I WORK WITH
I support adults living with experiences such as:• Fibromyalgia• Chronic migraine• Persistent back, neck or joint pain• Tension headaches• Pain following an injury or accident• Pain following medical procedures or surgery• Persistent pain alongside trauma-related symptoms• Chronic pain with anxiety, grief or emotional distress• The emotional impact of living with medically unexplained or difficult-to-diagnose symptoms
You don't need to have a particular diagnosis to talk to me about the emotional impact of persistent pain.
WHAT THERAPY WON'T BE
I won't promise to cure your pain.
I won't tell you that your symptoms are imaginary.
I won't tell you that changing your thoughts will make your pain disappear.
I won't ask you to stop pursuing appropriate medical care.
And I won't assume that stress or trauma is the explanation for everything happening in your body.
Instead, we'll look at your experience and decide together what kind of support would actually be useful.
WHAT THERAPY CAN BE
A place where you don't have to convince someone that you're struggling.
A place to talk about the grief, frustration and uncertainty that can come with chronic pain.
A place to work on boundaries, relationships, coping and self-compassion.
A place to explore difficult experiences when they are relevant.
And a place where you can be a whole person—not just a diagnosis or a list of symptoms.
You don't have to wait until you're “better” to get support.
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