Welcome to the Pain Management Programme. The purpose of this toolkit is to guide you through the work we ask you to complete prior to each weekly session. If you find this a struggle for any reason please let us know so we can support you during your time on the programme.

On completion of the programme we hope you will find this toolkit a useful resource to revisit to support you in your ongoing management of life with pain.

Whilst some of the information in this toolkit can be relevant in many different areas of life, we wish to note that its use is intended solely for current and past participants of the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Pain Management Programme.

The GGC PMP is a person centred group programme. All participants will have undergone an assessment prior to the programme, and all will have chronic pain.

The British Pain Society describes that “Pain Management Programmes (PMPs) are the intervention of choice for people with chronic pain which adversely affects their quality of life and where there is significant impact on physical, psychological and social function.” (Guidelines for Pain Management Programmes for Adults, British Pain Society)

The PMP uses an interdisciplinary approach. This means during your participation there may be input from Psychologists, Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Doctors who are all working together to support you to improve you quality of life.

We know living with chronic pain can impact many areas of life such as relationships, hobbies, work, and our emotional and physical functioning and wellbeing.

During your time on the PMP we will support you to explore what matters to you and introduce you to strategies which can help improve some of these important life areas. This will look different for everybody depending on your individual experience, hopes and needs. We also hope the experience of implementing these strategies during the programme will help you feel more confident in your ability to cope with your pain in the future.

The Pain Management Programme (PMP) is a group programme. We can offer either in-person or virtual group options. This will have been discussed with you at assessment.

For the 12 week period there will be a session once a week which will last about 2 hours.

The PMP will introduce you to a range of strategies to help you live well with pain. These are based on Cognitive Behavioural and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches. 

During the course of the group we ask you to explore making changes in some way. This may involve your approach to your thinking, activity, sleep, communication or many other life areas.

It is normal to feel nervous about attending a group. From feedback from past participants we know this will often settle after the first or second session. If you are struggling please let us know.

This toolkit sets out the preparation required for each session. If you require this in a different format or have any problems accessing it please let us know so we can support you.

If you are contacting us by telephone our contact number is 0141 355 1493 or email ggc.pain.management@nhs.scot please include your full name, CHI and your group day and time.