Your pain is real. That doesn’t mean it has to last forever.
I work with people in persistent pain to figure out what's actually driving it and build tools that work—so pain stops interfering.
Most clients experience significant relief within weeks. Some report pain-free days after just a session or two.
I'm a medical sociologist (PhD, UCSF) with 20 years studying pain from every angle—research, clinical practice, and my own experience living with it.
I'm an expert in how pain interventions came to be, how they interact, and how they fail. Seeing what goes wrong, and how, points to what goes right. I can show you.
If you're ready to try something different, let's talk.
“Working with Sara was utterly life-changing. Through her compassionate support and skillful guidance, I completely reshaped my relationship to my pain and developed ways to experience more joy and pleasure. It had a profound impact on the way I move through the world, through the lens of chronic pain and beyond. I cannot recommend her enough!”
Is This Work Right for You?
Pain Fermata works best for people who are ready to engage—not just receive treatment, but actively participate in changing how they relate to pain.
If you want, you can take this short questionnaire to help us both figure out if this work is a good match for where you are right now. It takes about 2 minutes and I review every response personally.
Or, skip it entirely and just book a free intro call to talk directly.
You'll be asked for your email so I can follow up with next steps if this looks like a match.
Pain Flare-Up Reset
3-Minute
When we’re in pain, our nervous system can shift into a hyperaroused, protective state—one that directs our attention toward threat and makes everything feel more intense. We can interrupt that loop by intentionally cultivating cues of safety, both inside the body and in our environment.
This 3-minute practice draws on elements of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Pain, each of which has a strong evidence base for reducing pain and improving regulation. It also uses principles consistent with polyvagal-informed approaches—namely, heart-focused breathing and imagery that support a shift out of vigilance and into a calmer, more grounded state.
Pain Fermata supports people living with:
Persistent musculoskeletal pain
Old injuries. Back, neck, shoulder, hip, knee, or jaw pain–especially when you’ve tried PT, stretching, and massage, and it still feels stuck.
Headache and migraine patterns
Including one-sided pain, tension-associated headaches, stress-triggered migraines, or headache patterns that feel unpredictable.
Nerve-related or radiating pain
Symptoms such as sciatica, tingling, burning, or electric-like sensations—especially when symptoms fluctuate, migrate, or don’t clearly correspond to findings on imaging.
Widespread, shifting, or difficult-to-classify pain
Pain associated with burnout or prolonged stress, or symptoms that move around and resist a single, stable explanation.
Pain that closely tracks with stress, emotions, or life context
Pain that reliably worsens during periods of overwhelm, fear, shame, or fatigue—and eases, even temporarily, when the nervous system feels safer or more regulated.
Pain that persists despite “normal” test results
Pain that remains very real and disruptive even after imaging, labs, or specialist evaluations fail to identify a clear structural cause.
Testimonials
About me
I know how exhausting it is to live with pain day after day—I’ve lived it and walked alongside many others in it. With a PhD in medical sociology studying pain research, plus two decades of experience, I help people rebuild trust in their bodies and experience relief that lasts.
I’ve done the academic route
I have a PhD from University of California, San Francisco where I dedicated myself to uncovering how chronic pain was being mismanaged in the wake of the opioid crisis. My research took me into rooms where various brain-based pain interventions were being studied in neuroimaging labs and taken up in hospital settings. In addition to the knowledge I gained, I also gained a facility with research and the myriad of methods for treating chronic pain, as well as the physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying them.
I’ve done the bodywork route
With a 12 year practice as a clinically-trained bodyworker, over thousands of sessions I treated hundreds of patients suffering from different stages of persistent and chronic pain and facilitated a way for my clients to effectively and fully re-inhabit the bodies that they were so desperately trying to re-engage with comfortably.
…and I can relate
Like everyone, I’ve faced challenges with persistent discomfort and pain. I dealt with my own chronic condition and was forced to take a hard look at existing approaches and determine my own way of navigating the difficult and complex circumstances of persistent and chronic pain and the industry at large. I have found that with practice, the pain you are feeling now can become an opportunity—for new dialogues with parts of ourselves, for expanded awareness of our form and structure, and for deep insight into our own resilience.
Services
Individual Session
$260
For people who want to start with a single focused session or need help with a specific decision about their pain.
One Month Package
$885
Most people work with me for about a month at a time—four weekly sessions plus on-call support between meetings.
Caregiver Support
$260
If someone you care about is living with persistent pain, these sessions help you understand what they're experiencing and how to support them without burning out.
What is Pain Fermata?
In music, a fermata signals a pause—an intentional moment of stillness held at the performer’s discretion.
Pain Fermata offers that same kind of pause for people living with persistent pain: a space where you choose to stop, reflect, and relate to pain on your own terms.
Schedule a Call
Book a free intro call so that I can learn more about you and get a sense for what’s been working as far as pain management—and what hasn’t.
Together we can determine if this process is the right fit for you, or if there’s another path that makes more sense.
