Interview with Coralie Wales President Chronic Pain Australia
Why did you originally decide to found Chronic Pain Australia?
I was working as a counsellor specialising in pain, and found I was receiving a distressing volume of calls from people who were at risk of suicide because they were at their wits’ end dealing with their chronic pain. When I looked for an appropriate community organisation to refer these people to for ongoing support I couldn’t find one. Someone had to do it!
What have been the most important milestones for the organisation since then?
In the beginning we focused on getting the infrastructure in place we needed to be in a sustainable position to help people. We have volunteers all over the country and it’s important we keep them safe.
The next step was setting up the website so we could reach out to people and ask them how they wanted to be supported. One of the ways we’ve done this is through the Pain is Not Invisible Project.
None of that would’ve been possible without the support of the Rotary club of Thornleigh which kindly donated the seed money to get us established in our first year and Pfizer and Janssen Cilag who funded the Pain is Not Invisible Project.
In September 2007 Chronic Pain Australia ran the first conference to be held in Australia which examined chronic pain from a consumer perspective. In September 2008 we released the interim report “Pain is Not Invisible” which clearly revealed the many issues confronting people in pain in Australia.
Then, in August 2009 we launched a nationwide telephone support line that is manned entirely by volunteers. Vodafone Hutchison help us with the cost of calls. In March 2010 we partnered with the Faculty of Pain Medicine and the Australian Pain Society to develop a draft National Pain Strategy which was the substantial document informing the National Pain Summit.
Who are the people involved?
We have a Board of 10 who work hard as the engine room of the organization to ensure good governance. We have a voluntary General Manager who is a champion! We have an increasing number of members who are people in pain and also health professionals who want to see changes in the culture for pain in this country. Amongst the members we have a member discussion group who are really a focus group for discussing issues and ideas for solving challenges. And we also have a National Advisory Panel consisting of 21 members; consumers, academics and clinicians who are very concerned that people in pain should be given real choices and that the current situation is not good enough. The National Advisory Panel helps us formulate opinions and policies on how things can be improved for people in pain.
Who works on the hotline?
Our brilliant team of volunteers man the phones.
Whilst the volunteers are not professional counsellors, we’re not just an information line either. Before working on the hotline all volunteers complete a 13 week training course, so they are equipped with an understanding of the issues confronting a person suffering from chronic pain.
This is an important point of difference between us and other community hotlines such as Lifeline which specialise in helping people in times of crisis, but may not be familiar with the particular needs of chronic pain sufferers.
For every intake of training we receive about 20 applicants, from which we accept approximately 5-6 people. Many people are shocked to hear this, as it seems crazy for an organisation with no funding not to take all the help it can get! But it’s critical that the service the hotline provides is always in the best interests of the consumers.
It’s a very special group of volunteers who answer the phones. The common thread we look for in volunteers is that they are motivated to donate their time through genuine empathy and don’t push their personal agenda – be it religious or otherwise – on anyone.
And of course, they are all really good listeners.
How do you find such great volunteers?
Some are retired health professionals, some have experienced chronic pain themselves, others have supported a loved one through it, many of our volunteers are also studying towards a professional career in psychology. The Hornsby Advocate has been kind enough to provide free advertising space to assist with our recruiting and The Jansen College of Applied Psychology recommends our training to their undergraduates.
How do you hope to see the hotline expand in 2010?
We are almost at the point where we can sustain an uninterrupted service during business hours and achieving that is right around the corner. Over the last 2 years we have run 3 volunteer training programs, so we’d like to expand that and build our telephone volunteer community. With more trained volunteers we are looking to expand our reach to a 24hour service as soon as possible.
And what’s the number people can call if they are struggling to cope with their chronic pain?
1800 218 921 or for more information visit www.chronicpainaustralia.org
Coralie Wales is the President of Chronic Pain Australia. She is immediate past CEO and founder of the Chronic Pain Group and a founding Director of Chronic Pain Australia. She lives with chronic pain and this year will submit her PhD thesis which has explored chronic pain through the eyes of rehabilitation professionals nationally. Coralie speaks regularly at conferences and in the community about chronic pain and the challenges facing statutory systems around Australia. She works as a consultant providing advice to major employers in Australia, and specialises in the rehabilitation of people living with chronic pain, assisting many to return to functional lifestyles over the last 13 years. She has lectured on chronic pain, counselling and communication skills in Sydney University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Coralie is a member of the Australian Pain Society, the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors and the Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australasia.
maryblack
April 30, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Coralie what were you trained
Coralie what were you trained IN before you started Rehabilitation Counselling? How did you get chronic pain? and how do you cope with your pain?
Who drafted the program to start Chronic Pain Australia? It states your the founder but who provided the ideas ?
I would be interested to hear FEEDBACK?
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Trev
January 2, 2011 at 7:57 am
Chronic Pain
Your body has the unparalled ability to heal itself if given half a chance. Research conducted by the US Dep of Health & Human Services reveals that an astounding 70 percent of all illness is actually avoidable. Instead of engaging in mortal combat with the enemy, most of us can sidestep the battle completely simply by pumping up our immune system. Unblocking & moving energy through cellular vibration is the key.
Biology defines the cell as the smallest independently functioning unit in the body. A cell consists of membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, DNA, RNA, mitochondria, & other organelles. Every internal organ & tissue in the body consists of cells. Living cells have various functions, such as protection, secretion, immune duties, reproduction, absorption, & elimination. . In addition to performing their various functions, cells vibrate. They expand, contract, spin, wobble, twist, & rock nonstop, like peripatetic teenagers. Some movements are consistent, others random. But any & all of this activity radiates energy.
Although Western medicine does study biochemical changes in cells it doesnt pay much attention to cell vibration or cell energy with respect to health. Yet in Soul Mind Body Medicine created by Dr Zhi Gang Sha getting & staying – healthy starts right here. Matter inside the cells & energy outside the cells are constantly transforming, each into each other. When a person is healthy this transformation between matter & energy remains in relative balance. Any factor that causes an imbalance in this transformation results in illness. When cells expand, they breath in the energy around them & transform this energy into internal matter. When cells contract, they breath out , thereby transforming the matter inside them to energy around them.
Remember how you could feel the heat when you held your palms very close together? What you were feeling was the transformation of matter from inside the cells of your palms into energy outside the cells of your palms. Its like a dance that’s happening inside all of you all the time. Every once in a while, however, elements such as bacteria, viruses, anger, worry, grief, depression ( western medicines major cause of illness & disease ) or accidents can throw a kink into this dynamic twostep by creating an imbalance in the transformation matter in the cells & energy outside the cells. Thats when you get sick.
To get well , you must restore that balance. To stay well, you must increase your energy so that it’s less vulnerable to those elements that can affect it. Overactice cells however, will create too much energy in one area of your body. When accumulated energy grows too great to be transmitted to other parts of the body, a blockage occurs. Like a river rises after heavy rain (in different parts of Australia now) when the water is too great for the channel the water starts to spill over its banks. Water then pools on the surrounding land stagnates. Diseases start spreading.
Energy can accumulate in the body in much the same way. When energy doesnt flow properly in the body condiitions for poor health are established. Overvibrating cells may result in acute or chronic pain, inflamation, hemorrhage, heart attack, stroke, cysts, unusual growths, tumors, & hyperactivity of the organs.
Acupuncture, yoga & tai chi constitute ways to restore energy balance by stretching & moving our body to dispense energy blockages. But there are other ways to move energy- through hand positions that use simple principles from physics, mantras that stimulate vibration internally, visualisation, & more. Simple wisdom is the most powerful wisdom.
For more information trev3396815@gmail.com