Master Difficult Conversations
Gain patient trust, improve clinic
efficiency and increase patient outcomes, while avoiding burnout.
Master Engaging in Difficult Conversations with People Living With Chronic Pain
Gain patient trust, improve clinic efficiency and increase
patient outcomes, while avoiding burnout.
These are challenges providers tell us they face.
Can you relate?
“I want to address their pain but the way the medical system is structured, I don’t have the luxury to spend the time necessary to truly understand my patients’ pain.
“When I use certain terms that are used within the medical community, I can see my patient’s agitation, but I can’t think of any other options in the moment.”
“There is an ongoing misconception that pain management is only about medication, making it difficult to approach my patients with other options.”
“I’ve approached conversations with my pain patients and it hasn’t gone well. It makes me wary to tread in those hostile waters again. It really throws me and my team off.”
“I wish I could communicate to my patients that their pain isn’t just my responsibility. In order for their treatment to have any success, I need their cooperation, too.”
“I want to help enhance my patients’ quality of life but they are resistant to the idea of incorporating other modalities beside pain medication.”
“Managing my own expectations and my patients’ is hard. I can’t fix their pain and I feel like I’m failing them.”
“I’m much more comfortable with just giving my patients the data and facts, and repeating myself. It’s frustrating.”
Take the frustration out of your day, reclaim your time,
and achieve better patient outcomes.
These are challenges providers tell us they face.
Can you relate?
“I want to address their pain but the way the medical system is structured, I don’t have the luxury to spend the time necessary to truly understand my patients’ pain.
“When I use certain terms that are used within the medical community, I can see my patient’s agitation, but I can’t think of any other options in the moment.”
“There is an ongoing misconception that pain management is only about medication, making it difficult to approach my patients with other options.”
“I’ve approached conversations with my pain patients and it hasn’t gone well. It makes me wary to tread in those hostile waters again. It really throws me and my team off.”
“I wish I could communicate to my patients that their pain isn't just my responsibility. In order for their treatment to have any success, I need their cooperation, too.”
“I want to help enhance my patients’ quality of life but they are resistant to the idea of incorporating other modalities beside pain medication.”
“Managing my own expectations and my patients’ is hard. I can’t fix their pain and I feel like I’m failing them.”
“I’m much more comfortable with just giving my patients the data and facts, and repeating myself. It’s frustrating.”
Take the frustration out of your day, reclaim your time,
and achieve better patient outcomes.
You’ll receive 52 different pain-related scripts
that will teach you how to engage in meaningful dialogues with patients.
Each series comes with a concise preparatory guide to help providers anticipate challenges, reinforce essential messages, and offer clear, compassionate language to address patient concerns effectively. Using insights drawn from personal experience, patient stories, and evidence-based practices implemented by providers, each series equips you with tools to foster more meaningful dialogues.
What’s included:
• Practical Scripts: Over 52 sample conversations to help you frame discussions and respond thoughtfully to your patients’ concerns.
• Strategies for Empathy: Approaches for asking the right questions and creating a safe space where patients feel understood.
• Language Guidance: Alternatives to language that may unintentionally stigmatize or alienate, with tips to pivot toward more constructive communication.
• Emotion-Centered Questions: Techniques for exploring the feelings behind your patients’ words, helping you get to the heart of their experiences.
You’ll receive one script per week. Each script is designed to allow for open non-judgmental conversations that build trust, develop rapport, and demonstrate empathy. Providers who have used these scripts report not only an increase in patient receptivity to individualized treatment plans, but also their effectiveness.
Each script has been successfully used by over 50,000 providers in fostering trust, demonstrating empathy, and supporting open, meaningful dialogues with their pain patients.
You don’t want to pass up this opportunity to be more effective.
Your patients will feel heard and will thank you.
Nationally pain patients express.
People living with pain feel health care providers are not equipped
to manage their pain effectively.
79%
63%
69%
71%
24%
41%
99%
53%
Feel stigmatized because of pain.
Feel stigmatized by their providers.
Want to be a “team” with their provider.
The top barrier to care is “provider attitude.”
“Rarely” or “never” feel validated or listened to.
A need for better pain education from providers.
Pain restricts their ability to engage in routine activities.
Want to better understand options for managing their pain.
79%
Feel stigmatized because of pain.
63%
Feel stigmatized by their providers.
69%
Want to be a “team” with their provider.
71%
The top barrier to care is “provider attitude.”
24%
“Rarely” or “never” feel validated or listened to.
41%
A need for better pain education from providers.
99%
Pain restricts their ability to engage in routine activities.
53%
Want to better understand options for managing their pain.
Through our commitment to building deeper interpersonal connections between patients and their community of providers, employers, and family members, Moving Through Chronic Pain has become the most trusted resource among providers and practitioners since 2013.
Difficult Dialogues scripts are specifically designed to help you gain greater ease when:
Conducting conversations in a supportive way while following safe pain control practices.
Establishing trust, developing rapport, and demonstrating empathy by exercising non-judgment.
Recognizing and respecting patients’ personal values and beliefs when tailoring treatment discussions ensures the patient feels heard and valued.
Helping patients be more receptive to individualized treatment plans.
Learning to pivot from language that may reinforce stigma to words that validate and empower.
Using our proven de-escalating method during sensitive and emotionally-charged conversations.
Navigating specific topics such as tapering and other non-opioid pain management strategies that may trigger fearful resistance in your patients.
Setting clear expectations about treatment goals and timelines to help patients feel grounded and informed.
Your Difficult Dialogues Subscription costs less than $17 a week.
Sign up for your annual subscription today!
Pay in full and save $300*.
Or sign up for auto payments of $100 per month. ($1200 for one year)
*An annual pre-paid subscription lasts for 12 months and automatically renews at the end of the 11th month. Choose this option, and save $300.
Or you pay as you go for $100 per month
(a cost of $1200 for the year).
“ For chronic pain management to be effective, it requires commitment from both the provider and the patient.
It’s about the patient’s willingness to engage in modalities beyond medications. A significant misconception
I still encounter in my day-to-day work is that pain management revolves solely around medication. The concept
of Difficult Dialogues is often overlooked, as the focus on therapeutics can sometimes overshadow the importance of communication. While it’s important not to offer ‘false hope,’ providing hope and positive reinforcement
through encouraging words is essential.”
DR. SING PING CHOW, Pharm.D, BCPS
Pain Management Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the subscription for?
The Difficult Dialogues Script Subscription is best suited to medical providers: healthcare professionals, physical therapists, psychologists, pharmacists, and anyone involved in the care of people living with chronic pain. These Scripts are written from the medical provider’s point of view.
How long does the subscription last?
The subscription runs for one year from the time of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew for another year at the end of the eleventh month unless you unsubscribe. You will be notified in advance when your subscription is up for renewal.
I run a medical practice. Can I share the scripts with my staff?
Absolutely. We encourage you to share the Scripts with any licensed staff under your supervision within your practice. You are however NOT permitted to share with those outside your practice or distribute indiscriminately. These Script are copy-write protected.
How should I use these scripts in my practice?
We have provided a Welcome video for subscribers that outlines the top three vital ways to utilized these Scripts:
a) How to 'check yourself at the door' prior to meeting with a pain patient
b) Advance patient panel preparation so they can stay focused during their appointment
c) Empower your staff to onboard and prescreen new pain patients
d) Redo dialogues with patients that didn't go well so you can re-establish a collaborative provider/patient partnership and build back trust
Accompanying bonus guides offer even more tips on how best to use our Difficult Dialogues Scripts in your day to day practice.
How frequently do I receive a Difficult Dialogues Script?
The Difficult Dialogues Subscription is a monthly subscription but you receive a Script every week. That means 4 Scripts per month and 52 Scripts per year. Every subscriber will set up a login and password to the Difficult Dialogues Membership Portal to easily access your Scripts instead of searching through your inbox. You will be notified by email when a new Difficult Dialogues is ready to view in your Membership Portal.
How long will I have access to the Scripts?
As a Difficult Dialogues Member you get lifetime access to your Difficult Dialogues Membership Portal when you subscribe. You will be notified by email two months prior to let you know when your annual Difficult Dialogues subscription will automatically renew. You can opt out at that time or do nothing and your subscription will continue uninterrupted.
Michelle personally leads a series of Emmy Award Winning educational workshops geared to providers, clinicians, and their staff, including Chronic Pain Management and Opioid Tapering. More than 50,000 medical providers have completed the PEER™ Method Provider Education Program. Michelle has inspired thousands of patients to take a more active role in their pain journey through her public community forums and social media.
How Difficult Dialogues began.
Scripts And Strategies Rooted In A Lived Experience.
Just over two decades ago, I suffered a life-changing fall from a balcony leaving me with multiple injuries and years of chronic pain. And like so many others, I endured countless doctor appointments with varying degrees of success. I struggled to articulate my feelings, afraid of being dismissed or seen as “complaining.”
At times, I felt trapped, fearful of what lay ahead yet equally hesitant to speak honestly about my needs.
A number of months spent at a Mayo Pain Rehabilitation Clinic introduced me to the science of pain which became an incredible turning point for me. The knowledge I gained transformed my understanding of what I was experiencing. The tools I was given allowed me to regain control and some sense of normalcy in my life not only for me, but also for those close to me.
Inspired by my own transformation, I trained as a pain support specialist and dedicated myself to helping patients and providers navigate the complex journey through chronic pain. This is the mission of what has become Moving Through Chronic Pain.
The Difficult Dialogues guides and sample scripts are the culmination my own personal journey and those we encountered through our collaboration with licensed healthcare providers. They are designed to help you traverse the myriad of difficult conversations you will encounter in the treatment and management of chronic pain with more empathy, clarity, and confidence.
We’d love to hear how they work for you.
All resources and materials provided within the Difficult Dialogues Membership Portal are intended for educational and informational purposes only. They are designed to assist healthcare providers in navigating challenging conversations with patients living with chronic pain. These scripts and resources are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Providers should use their clinical judgment, consider individual patient circumstances, and consult relevant guidelines or specialists when necessary. Patients are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional for any questions or concerns regarding their specific medical conditions.