Working with a chronic pain coach is not like working with a standard healthcare provider.
There are no rushed appointments and no one telling you what to do and sending you home.
This is a collaborative process. You bring your experience, your history, and your goals.
I bring the framework, the science, and the professional training of a certified pain coach. Together we build something that actually fits your life.
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I do not do high-pressure sales. I do not make promises I cannot keep. And I do not treat you as a collection of symptoms.
You are a whole person whose nervous system has been working hard to protect you — often for a very long time.
That is where we start.
The Coaching Process with Cynthia Austin, NBC-HWC
Step 1: The Free Consultation
Before anything else, we talk. The consultation is a free 30-minute conversation designed to give both of us what we need to make a good decision. You share where you are, what you have tried, and what you are hoping for. I listen, ask questions, and give you an honest assessment of whether chronic pain coaching is appropriate for your situation. There is no obligation and no pressure. If this is not the right fit, I will tell you — and if I know of a more appropriate resource, I will point you toward it.
Step 2: Program Onboarding
If we decide to move forward, you complete a comprehensive intake process before our first session. This includes a whole-person wellness self-assessment and a self-reported physical history intake designed to give me a full picture of your pain experience — not just the physical symptoms, but the mental, emotional, environmental, and behavioral factors that shape it. This is where we establish your baseline and begin identifying the patterns we will be working with.
Step 3: The Program
The C.H.A.N.G.E. Lab: Chronic Pain Edition™ is delivered in a structured sequence of modules, each building on the last. Between sessions you engage with the module content — reading, reflection, and real-world practice. Each week we meet live to integrate what you are learning, work through what is coming up, and adjust the approach as needed. This chronic pain coaching process is not one-size-fits-all. It is adapted to you.
Step 4: Practice and Integration
Change does not happen in sessions. It happens in the small daily choices and practices that accumulate over time. Between our weekly meetings you will be applying what you are learning in real life — through structured experiments, reflection tools, and practices designed to give your nervous system new experiences of safety. I support you through that process every step of the way.
Step 5: Completion and Beyond
When you complete the program you leave with more than a set of tools. You leave with a new way of understanding your body, your nervous system, and your pain experience — one that belongs to you and goes with you. The framework you build inside this pain coaching program does not expire when the program ends.
The free 30-minute consultation is not a sales call. It is a professional conversation.
As your pain coach, I want to understand your situation clearly enough to know whether coaching is the right intervention for you at this point in time. That means I will ask real questions and give you real answers. If this program is not right for you, I will tell you that — and I will do my best to point you toward something that is.
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What to bring to the consultation: a brief overview of your pain history, what you have already tried, and what you are hoping to change. That is enough to have a productive conversation.
Logistics
All chronic pain coaching sessions are conducted via telehealth.
Coaching for the chronic pain experience is available to clients across the United States and internationally.
Sessions are scheduled in advance through a direct booking link.
You will receive all necessary information at the time of scheduling.