April 12th, 2022 8:53 pm

Soula Mantalvanos, Published Author of the Journal of Medical Internet Research

By |2023-01-24T16:12:25+11:00April 12th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Learn, Living, Online, Professional Resources, Workcover|Tags: , , , , , , |

I'm an author of What Injured Workers With Complex Claims Look For in Online Communities: Netnographic Analysis, now published in one of the world's best medical journals.  

March 4th, 2022 1:26 pm

CODA 2022: My Lived Experience and I Will Be There

By |2022-03-04T13:40:36+11:00March 4th, 2022|Categories: Blog, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , |

I'm thrilled to be invited to another educational event IN REAL LIFE I might add.  I really enjoy collaborating with Dr Paul Grinzi as a lot of his educational workshops have a great focus on communication. If people and their health teams can't connect then care isn't going to happen. So how do you reach, connect and help people who live with chronic pain? Come along and learn! PRIMARY AND ACUTE CARE Chronic persistent pain is a common clinical issue, and yet most of us have received very little training in how to best manage patients experiencing this. Not only do we have to manage the clinical and psychosocial issues presented by the patient, we have to recognise and manage our own biases as clinicians. The format for the workshop utilises patient experiences, clinical cases and new frameworks to help further our understanding of persistent pain and how to assist our patients. There is a specific focus on management within the community, but also opportunities to explore the challenges within the emergency and inpatient hospital interfaces. By the end of this half-day, you’ll have optimised your approach, and may find this topic a little less painful.

February 26th, 2022 2:09 pm

Mentorship Supported by the Australian Government Boosting Female Founders Initiative

By |2022-11-26T20:58:47+11:00February 26th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Online|Tags: , , , |

Congratulate me! I have been awarded expert mentoring with Buzz Web Media and Women With Wit’s – Lee Ussher under the Australian Government’s Boosting Female Founders Initiative (BFFI) for PainTrain [...]

February 15th, 2022 12:32 pm

The Business of Advocacy

By |2022-02-15T12:32:14+11:00February 15th, 2022|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Online|Tags: |

Over some years and after a third time being banned in some way or form from an official pain organisation's social media, I now feel encouraged to make a point - advocacy is not a business. I began this website to advocate for people living with chronic pain and share helpful resources to avoid the impact of misdiagnosis on their lives. I aimed and achieved gratitude on a global scale, which has fed me. I also started this website to connect people living with chronic pain to professionals who understood them very well and could possibly treat them. I've asked none of these amazing professionals to pay me to be included on this website – we're all working for the same cause, right?  This was never intended to be a business. What I'm seeking is more respect and understanding for the voluntary position of the advocate. So let's pull the bandaid off and frankly define it: Advocacy is costly and time-consuming. It earns us no income; it causes pain and uses a significant portion of the little and precious uptime we get and, advocates are also much greater than their cause. I repeat; advocacy is no business. 

December 3rd, 2021 2:49 pm

Presenting My Pain Management Story and Vision at the Murray City Coast Country GP Training

By |2022-11-26T20:58:48+11:00December 3rd, 2021|Categories: Advocacy, Blog, Events, My Health Story|Tags: , , , , , , |

It was wonderful sharing my story and vision at the Murray City Coast Country GP Training. AND especially presenting on a stage and in actual physical life to 50 general practitioners (GPs) who [...]

November 26th, 2021 1:12 pm

Presenting at the Murray City Country Coast GP Training Event

By |2022-11-26T20:58:48+11:00November 26th, 2021|Categories: Advocacy, Events, Learn, Professional Resources|Tags: , , , , , |

There are no formal qualifications for someone living with chronic pain but patients are considered 'patient experts' and our lived experience is very much valued. I've been invited to several seminars and training sessions relating to chronic pain over the course of my 14-year experience. It's of great significance for me to be able to use the lived experience – no other value for it really!

June 1st, 2021 9:23 am

A (fantabulous) Chat with (the fantabulous) Joletta Belton

By |2023-11-07T11:05:18+11:00June 1st, 2021|Categories: Advocacy, Learn, Online, Personal resources|Tags: , , , |

How I love mycuppajo – the wonderfully beaming human officially known as Joletta Belton. I was introduced to Joletta's blog by a mutual friend, Dr John Quintner (pain educator for Arthritis & Osteoporosis WA and retired pain physician). Jo's experience (science and creativity) makes her documentation about the complex lived experience real, interesting and easy to understand. It's so easy to relate to Jo. Jo and I also share the added frustrating experience of being an 'injured worker' and having to 'defend' our injuries to unjust workers' compensation systems. Her advocacy and achievements are extraordinary – she is a force driving change throughout the world of chronic pain. I'm so happy to be able to chat with Jo and deliver this video to you all. I know it will be inspiring, energising and informing. I also know that much of the way through you will have beaming smiles on your faces. It's just impossible to speak with Jo and not smile! In this video, Joletta and chat about: 1:04 Checkpoint – the meaning of (Jo's) life 3:53 Being the new 'you' 5:13 Purpose: the lived experience 7:55 The power of words 11:00 When there are no words 13:25 Patients & Practitioners 17:05 Science speak 21:13 Pain in realistic terms 26:15 Angry with yourself 28:50 Forced to defend 33:43 Livelihood loss 35:41 mycuppajo.com and beyond 43:33 COVID impact 48:02 Changing system-centered care 51:55 Gratitude

Go to Top