Founded by Inna Khazan, Ph.D. A Harvard-trained Licensed Clinical Psychologist.
Leading Expert in Biofeedback.
84 State St, Suite 570
Boston, MA 02109
Chronic Pain Treatment in Boston and Online
Relief Is Possible — Science-Based, Personalized Care for Chronic Pain
At the Boston Center for Health Psychology and Biofeedback, we support clients in managing chronic pain through personalized, science-based care. Whether you work with us in person at our welcoming downtown Boston office or remotely through teletherapy in one of the many states where we are licensed, you’ll receive effective, high-quality treatment rooted in research and clinical expertise.
📞 Ready to take the next step? Contact us or call 617-231-0011 to schedule your free 15-minute consultation. As a boutique, private-pay practice, we’re able to offer individualized attention and flexibility that many insurance-driven clinics cannot. Clients often share that this model allows for greater progress, faster results, and more confidence in their care. (You may be eligible for partial reimbursement if you have out-of-network benefits.)
Learn more about our our unique approach, conditions we treat, clinical team, and practice environment.
After years of managing pain without real relief, this is the first time I feel both understood and hopeful.
💭 When Chronic Pain Controls Your Life
Are you tired of living in pain? Do you feel like you’re missing out on life because of your physical limitations? Maybe there are social activities that your body can’t handle, so you find yourself constantly having to say no to outings with friends. Because it’s embarrassing to explain what you can and can’t do, perhaps you avoid telling others about your condition altogether.
Additionally, your pain may have created severe health anxiety—even when you feel okay, you live in perpetual fear of your pain returning. And when the pain does return, you’re afraid of it getting worse. Sometimes, it may seem like your entire life is built around when your pain will hit next and how it will affect your life.
Living with chronic pain often feels like being stuck in a vicious cycle. Constant fear of pain leads to lack of activity and avoidance of getting out and seeing people, which leads to isolation and loneliness, which in turn leads to depression and more pain. This cycle of pain, fear and avoidance can prevent you from engaging in life and cause you to feel helpless and stuck.
Oftentimes, the worst part of dealing with chronic pain is how invisible it is. Doctors, friends, and family may not fully believe you when you share your struggles. This is why counseling for chronic pain is so vital. It’s a chance to find validation from a compassionate therapist who understands what an uphill climb it is to live with chronic pain and will help you develop a healthier response to your situation.
🧠 Chronic Pain Is Real — And It Can Be Treated
Over 20 percent of adults in the U.S. live with chronic pain, and for millions, that pain is severe enough to interfere with work, relationships, and daily life. Yet despite how common it is, chronic pain is often misunderstood. Many people are told it’s “all in their head,” leaving them to question whether their pain is real — or whether they’re somehow to blame for it.
This mentality gets it all backward. Since your brain and nervous system process pain signals, pain is — by definition — a brain-based experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s imaginary. Your pain is real. It’s valid. And it deserves to be taken seriously.
Research shows that even after an injury heals, the nervous system may remain stuck in a state of high alert, amplifying signals and interpreting them as pain. This is not psychological in the sense of being “made up” — it’s physiological: a dysregulated system that needs support and retraining.
At the Boston Center for Health Psychology and Biofeedback, we recognize the complex reality of living with chronic pain. We don’t just treat symptoms — we work with the whole person. Our goal is to help you shift your relationship to discomfort, regulate your stress response, and restore balance to the systems that are keeping pain stuck in place.
You are not weak, broken, or imagining things. And you don’t have to face this alone. Here, you’ll find clinicians who understand chronic pain — and believe you can live more freely, more fully, even if the pain doesn’t go away entirely.
🛠️ How We Help: Our Integrative Approach to Chronic Pain
It’s natural to want to get rid of pain. But when pain is chronic, efforts to avoid or control it can often backfire — increasing tension, fear, and physical discomfort. That’s why our approach focuses on building a different relationship with pain: one grounded in regulation, compassion, and resilience.
At Boston Center for Health Psychology and Biofeedback, we draw on research-backed strategies that retrain your nervous system, reduce fear, and help you return to the life you want to live. While we can’t offer a cure for pain itself, we can help you loosen its hold — physically and emotionally.
A core part of our work involves biofeedback, which allows you to see how your nervous system responds to pain in real time, and trains your body in self-regulation. There are two main parts of the nervous system: the stress activation part and the relaxation part. If you struggle with chronic pain, your nervous system gets dysregulated and the relaxation part has a hard time modulating stress activation. This causes an increase in both pain and fear. With biofeedback, we strengthen the mechanism responsible for regulating stress activation, thereby reducing the intensity of fear and pain.
In addition to biofeedback, we may also use:
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✅ Mindfulness-based strategies to help you attend to discomfort without being overwhelmed.
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✅ Breathing and grounding techniques to calm the nervous system and reduce the intensity of pain signals.
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✅ Cognitive and compassion-based techniques to shift unhelpful self-talk and develop a kinder, more supportive relationship with yourself.
Ultimately, our goal is to help you stop fighting pain — and start living again. By reducing reactivity, building emotional resilience, and restoring a sense of agency, you can return to the activities and relationships that matter most.
🗂️ What to Expect in Therapy
The first session is dedicated to getting to know you — your unique experience with pain, your goals, and your needs. Whether you’re struggling with fibromyalgia, headaches, jaw pain, joint issues, IBS, or other chronic conditions, we’ll tailor treatment to fit your life.
We understand that chronic pain can make even simple tasks challenging. If you’re more comfortable standing or reclining during sessions, we welcome those accommodations. You can be yourself here.
As therapy progresses, we’ll explore your pain history and how you’ve coped with discomfort over time. Many people fall into cycles of fear and avoidance — understandably so. But these patterns often reinforce suffering. Together, we’ll work to gently shift those patterns, helping you engage more fully with your life, even when pain is present.
This work is grounded in empathy, flexibility, and science. We’ll help you:
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✅ Understand how chronic pain affects the brain and body
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✅ Learn new ways to respond to discomfort — rather than react automatically
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✅ Regulate emotional and physiological stress responses
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✅ Reconnect with activities and relationships you’ve been missing
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✅ Move forward with greater ease, strength, and confidence
Throughout this process, we’ll also address self-blame, frustration, and the emotional toll of chronic pain. You are not broken. You deserve support. And you don’t have to do this alone.
❓ Common Questions About Chronic Pain Therapy…
If I were strong enough, I would not need chronic pain counseling.
Being unable to control pain is not a sign of weakness. What’s more, merely trying to control pain often makes it worse. Instead of trying to change the unchangeable, we want you to step back and focus on what is in your control. True strength is found in accepting and adjusting to your situation by making small, realistic changes. Over time, subtle shifts in the way you think and behave can make a huge difference in your life.
I would prefer to take medication
Since you are reading this page, it is likely that medication didn’t provide you with the relief you were hoping for. What’s more, medication often comes with significant side effects, carries the risk of addiction, and doesn’t teach you any new coping strategies. Our practice will teach you pain-management skills that will last you a lifetime and carry no risk of addiction or significant side effects.
I am too afraid to start moving and doing things—it will only make my pain worse
It’s important to check with your doctor to make sure that increased movement and activity are healthy and advisable. If so, we will help you take small steps toward overcoming the fear of being more active. Think about it this way: would you rather be at home alone focusing on the pain and how miserable you are, or be out doing something pleasant with the people you love?
At BCHPB, our therapists help you change how you respond to pain — supporting emotional well-being and opening the door to meaningful growth. Located in downtown Boston and available via teletherapy across multiple states, BCHPB offers personalized, science-based care delivered by clinicians personally trained and supervised by Dr. Inna Khazan. Our focused, effective approach is grounded in compassion and designed to help you move forward — whether you meet with us in our calm, private office or from the comfort of your home.
