Pain Reprocessing THerapy in Bothell and Online Throughout Washington State
Chronic Pain Therapy in Washington
Your tests came back normal, but the pain hasn’t gone away.
You’ve done the MRIs, the X-rays, the specialist referrals. You’ve tried physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, massage, cortisone shots, and that expensive mattress everyone swore by. Your doctor says your imaging looks fine. They suggest you manage your stress, try yoga, maybe consider medication for the long term.
Meanwhile, your life keeps shrinking.
You used to hike the trails around Mount Rainier or kayak on the Columbia. Now you calculate whether you can make it through dinner with friends without having to leave early.
You've stopped saying yes to things because you never know how your body will feel. You schedule your entire week around pain levels, and you're starting to wonder if this is just your life now.
If you live in Washington State and you're dealing with chronic pain that doesn't have a clear medical explanation, or that's persisted long after an injury should have healed, I can help.
For a closer look at how Pain Reprocessing Therapy works and what the research says about neuroplastic pain, visit my chronic pain therapy page.
When chronic pain doesn’t match what the tests show
Many Washington residents live with chronic pain that their doctors can't fully explain. About 85% of people with chronic back pain have no structural damage that accounts for their symptoms. The same is true for many cases of neck pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, repetitive strain injuries, and other chronic pain conditions.
The pain is completely real. Brain imaging studies confirm that this type of pain activates the same regions as pain from tissue damage. There’s nothing imaginary about what you’re experiencing.
But when your body has healed and the pain persists, when imaging comes back normal but you're still hurting, something else is going on. Your nervous system may have learned to keep sending danger signals even when there's no current threat to protect you from.
Think of it like a smoke alarm that got stuck in the “on” position. The original fire is out, but the alarm keeps blaring. Your brain learned this response, and the research shows it can unlearn it.
Pain Reprocessing Therapy: a different approach for chronic pain
I use Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), an evidence-based approach specifically designed to address pain generated by the nervous system rather than structural damage.
PRT works by helping your brain relearn how to interpret signals from your body. Right now, when you bend over to tie your shoes or sit at your desk for an hour, your brain reads those normal sensations as dangerous and produces pain to protect you, even though nothing is actually being damaged. Through guided exercises, we work together to help your nervous system recognize that those sensations are safe, gradually turning off the false alarm that's been keeping you in pain.This approach is different from pain management strategies that teach you to cope with pain indefinitely. The goal is to eliminate or dramatically reduce the pain itself by addressing what's actually driving it.
In a clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry, 66% of participants were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment, and 98% experienced significant pain reduction. Those improvements held a year later.
Your life can change after therapy for chronic pain
You cook dinner start to finish without needing to sit down halfway through. You wake up on a Saturday and decide what to do based on what sounds good, not based on how your body feels that morning. You sit through your kid’s entire soccer game on the bleachers and then take them for pizza afterward instead of going straight home to lie down. You sign up for a hiking trip with friends and don’t spend the week before worrying about whether you’ll have to turn back. You stop researching new treatments every night before bed. You apply for a job you actually want instead of filtering every opportunity through what your body can handle.
Pain stops being the first thing you plan around.
Schedule Your First Session
Schedule Your First Session
Chronic pain therapy across Washington State
I work with clients across Washington, from metro areas to smaller communities where specialized chronic pain therapists are hard to find. Learn more about how I work with clients in Seattle, Bellevue and the Eastside, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Spokane.
Telehealth therapy available throughout Washington
I provide telehealth therapy to clients across Washington State, from the Puget Sound region to Eastern Washington, the Olympic Peninsula to the Columbia Basin. Whether you’re in Bellingham, the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Walla Walla, or a smaller community without access to specialized chronic pain therapists, you can work with me from home.
Many people in rural Washington or smaller cities have limited options for this type of specialized care. Telehealth removes that barrier.
And for chronic pain therapy specifically, telehealth is particularly well-suited because the work focuses on retraining your nervous system's responses, not on hands-on physical interventions. You’ll learn techniques you can practice in your own environment, where the pain shows up in your daily life.
Is this right for you?
I work with Washington State residents dealing with chronic pain that doesn’t have a clear medical explanation, or that has persisted long after an injury should have healed.
Common conditions include, but aren’t limited to: back pain, knee pain, neck pain, migraines, fibromyalgia, IBS, repetitive strain injuries, pelvic pain, and post-surgical pain that won’t resolve.
You don’t have to be fully convinced your nervous system is the source of your pain to start. What matters is openness to exploring the possibility when traditional treatments haven’t worked.
This approach may not be the right fit if you’re involved in ongoing legal matters related to your pain, if you believe conventional medicine has the answers and aren’t open to mind-body approaches, or if you haven’t yet had a medical evaluation to rule out conditions requiring medical treatment.
Questions?
FAQs About Chronic Pain Therapy
Don’t see your question listed here? Check my FAQ page for further information.
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I work with clients throughout Washington State via telehealth, including Spokane, Spokane Valley, Yakima, Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco), Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Pullman, Moses Lake, Ellensburg, Bellingham, Olympia, Longview, Centralia, Port Angeles, Bremerton, Mount Vernon, Anacortes, and surrounding areas.
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Most pain management programs teach you to cope with pain you're expected to have for the rest of your life: pacing strategies, relaxation techniques, adjusting expectations. PRT has a different goal. Rather than helping you live around the pain, PRT works to reduce or eliminate the pain itself by addressing the learned brain patterns that are generating it. In the clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry, 66% of participants were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment, and those results held a year later.
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The pain is real. Brain imaging confirms that pain generated by learned nervous system responses activates the same brain regions as pain from a broken bone or torn ligament. “Nothing wrong” on an MRI actually tells you something useful: it means the pain is unlikely to be coming from structural damage, which means it may respond very well to an approach like PRT that targets the brain's learned pain response rather than the body itself.
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No. You can continue with any medical care, physical therapy, or other treatment you’re currently receiving. Some clients find that as their pain decreases through PRT, they naturally need less of their other interventions, but that's a decision you and your other providers make together over time.
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Every situation is different, but most clients begin noticing shifts within the first several sessions: moments where the pain decreases or doesn’t show up when they’d normally expect it. A full course of treatment typically runs several months, though some people see significant improvement sooner.
About Ingrid Johnston, LMFT, MDFT
Washington chronic pain therapist
I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Washington State, specializing in chronic pain therapy.
I’ve completed Pain Reprocessing Therapy training and hold advanced certification in Medical Family Therapy and Collaborative Medicine. My approach combines somatic therapy, trauma treatment, and nervous system regulation.
I understand this work both professionally and personally. I've navigated my own path through chronic pain and learned firsthand how pain can take over your identity, your plans, and your sense of what's possible for your life.
I’m a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and the Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT).
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist: Washington State License #LF61033631
Get started in chronic pain therapy today from anywhere in Washington.
If you’ve tried other approaches and you’re still in pain, this might be the missing piece. Reach out to ask questions or schedule a first session.
Get In Touch
Contact Ingrid
Please complete the form, and I will be in touch within 48 business hours.
Office and mailing address:
19803 North Creek Parkway, Suite 205
Bothell, WA 98011
In-person in Bothell & online across Washington