Treatment Considerations for Clients with Co-Occurring Trauma, Addiction and Chronic Pain

In this course, family physician and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Mel Pohl (MD, DFASAM, Chief Medical Officer, The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center), introduces an integrated framework for understanding clients who present with the complex overlap of trauma, addiction, and chronic pain. The course explores how chronic pain develops through nervous system sensitisation, how fear and perceived threat amplify suffering, and why treatment must address function, emotion, and safety rather than symptoms alone. Clinicians are guided through practical applications of pain reprocessing therapy, polyvagal theory, breath work, movement, mindfulness, and therapeutic co-regulation to support more effective and compassionate treatment planning in real-world practice.