Maria's Chronic Pain Treatment

My name is Maria, and I have been living with debilitating chronic pain for many years.

Chronic pain has been profoundly disabling to me. I experience widespread pain every single day. I have been on ODSP since early 2020. I have spent thousands of dollars on physiotherapy, mental health counselling, medications, massage therapy, and more. I have missed out on work and education opportunities, social events, travel, and so much more. Despite my best efforts to improve, and despite countless medical treatments, the pain has gotten worse over the years.

My pain is at least partly linked to "somatic symptom disorder"; this means that there is a strong psychological component to my pain. Our minds and bodies are inextricably linked. On that note, I am raising money to fund a specialized treatment called Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, or ISTDP. ISTDP has good evidence of helping people with somatoform disorders. (You can read about it in a Globe and Mail article here ). It's no silver bullet or miracle cure, but I have hope that it could improve my quality of life. The primary barrier to it is cost.

I ask you to prayerfully consider donating to assist with the cost of ISTDP. If I raise the full $2800, it will fund 11 sessions. If I have to end the treatment early for any reason, I will use the remaining funds towards other health costs (physiotherapy, medication, etc.). Sharing this campaign would also be extremely helpful to me.

And whether you can donate financially or not, I ask for your prayers for comfort and strength from the Divine Physician.