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💡 In this insightful episode of PT Pro Talk, Mariana Parks sits down with Dr. Bronwyn Thompson to explore a game-changing perspective: using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for ourselves as clinicians.

When faced with complex cases and patients in distress, our instinct is to "fix" the problem. But what happens when our treatments don't work, and our minds tell us we aren't good enough? Dr. Thompson explains how psychological flexibility and the therapeutic use of self can transform your practice.

Discover how to manage your emotional responses, unhook from the pressure of having all the answers, and stay present in difficult interactions. Tune in to learn how reconnecting with your core clinical values can help you navigate uncertainty and build a more compassionate, fulfilling career.

💭 ‘’Physiotherapists must always have an answer... And yet, we can't always. That's the acceptance part: the willingness to say we don't have all the answers." - Dr. Bronwyn Thompson

👉🏻 Dr. Bronwyn Thompson leads the Postgraduate Programmes in Pain and Pain Management at University of Otago, based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Dr. Bronwyn Thompson’s clinical background is occupational therapy and psychology, and her clinical and research focus is on supported pain self-management in daily life.

Her research interests include lived experiences of chronic pain, consumer/lived experience involvement in research, policy and service development, and supported self-management in painful medical procedures. Her primary academic work is teaching an interprofessional approach to pain and pain management to clinicians from a diverse range of clinical backgrounds. She was awarded the University of Otago Teaching Excellence Award in 2022, and the University of Otago Gold Medal for teaching excellence in 2025.

📚In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to manage your emotional responses when working with distressed or challenging patients

• ACT techniques to unhook from unhelpful thoughts like "I'm failing them" or "They should be better’

• How to stay present during difficult interactions without needing to fix everything immediately

• Ways to reconnect with your clinical values and take action even when the work feels hard

🔎Bronwyn's Resource of Information:

• Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications

• PRAXIS Courses

• Blog

📲 Bronwyn's contact information:

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

• IG

🎥Link to interview on Youtube

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🎙Join our ⁠email list⁠ to receive podcast updates

📸⁠Instagram⁠

📱⁠Facebook⁠

💻⁠LinkedIn⁠

🐦⁠Twitter⁠

📩Email: ⁠mariana@ptprotalk.com⁠

PT Pro Talk Podcast is only possible with the support of forward-looking and innovative companies like Hanna Health⁠ and ⁠SaraHealth⁠.

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💡 In this episode of PT Pro Talk, Mariana Parks sits down with Dr. Greg Lehman for a deep dive into reconciling biomechanics with pain science in clinical practice. If you’ve ever felt torn between the traditional kinesiopathological model and modern neuroscience, this conversation will shift your perspective.

Learn the clinical reasoning behind the most critical decision you make: knowing exactly when to use graded exposure and when to protect the tissue. Watch now to learn how to debunk limiting beliefs and keep your patients moving confidently!

💭 ‘’I've always said like biomechanics are important, but just maybe not the way we've been traditionally taught" - Dr. Greg Lehman.

👉🏻 Dr. Greg Lehman is a practicing physiotherapist, researcher and educator in Toronto, Canada with over 20 years experience in the rehabilitation field. Greg’s background includes a MSc in Spine Biomechanics, MSc in Physiotherapy and a Chiropractic degree. Greg has published more than 20 peer reviewed publications in the manual therapy and exercise science fields. He has a special interest in the multidimensional nature of pain and injury and believes that simple yet comprehensive approaches are a cornerstone of the biopsychosocial approach to patient care.

He has taught the popular “Reconciling Biomechanics with Pain Science” & "Running Resiliency" courses for 11 years to 1000s of therapists throughout the world. The courses are about fundamentals and finding the common threads of many rehabilitation approaches to both simplify and improve treatment. "Recovery Strategies" is Greg's popular (more than 50,000 downloads) free e-book on the self management on pain and injuries. You can find Greg at greglehman.ca

📚In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why biomechanics and pain science aren't in conflict - and how to integrate both approaches in clinical practice

• The Symptom Modification Model and how to use it to guide your clinical reasoning and intervention choices

• How to decide when to "expose versus protect" a patient and what guides that critical clinical decision

• Common false beliefs about pain and injury that limit recovery - and simple strategies to address them with patients

  
  

🔎Greg's Resource of Information:

• Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Lehman, Greg. 2017. Recovery Strategies: Your Pain Guidebook. https://www.greglehman.ca/pain-science-workbooks.

• PhD thesis

  
  

📲 Greg's contact information:

• Website

• Instagram

• X

• Youtube

🎥Link to interview on Youtube

👉 ⁠Share Your Feedback⁠

🎙Join our ⁠email list⁠ to receive podcast updates

📸⁠Instagram⁠

📱⁠Facebook⁠

💻⁠LinkedIn⁠

🐦⁠Twitter⁠

📩Email: ⁠mariana@ptprotalk.com⁠

PT Pro Talk Podcast is only possible with the support of forward-looking and innovative companies like Hanna Health⁠ and ⁠SaraHealth⁠.

🚨Try Hanna Health free for 30 days - a customizable HEP platform where you can use your own videos, edit quickly, and track patient access. Start your trial here.

💡 In this episode of PT Pro Talk, Dr. Cory Alcon delivers a conversation on the management of chronic pain, moving beyond purely structural explanations to a modern understanding of neurocognition and the neuroimmune system.

We dive deep into the clinical nuances of patient communication, exploring the critical differences between structural damage and protective nervous system responses, and how pain catastrophizing impacts executive function and recovery.

💭 ‘’You can't just tell someone to stop catastrophizing. You have to help them make sense of their pain first - that's step one" - Dr. Cory Alcon.

👉🏻 Dr. Cory Alcon is an Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at High Point University and a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist specializing in chronic neuromusculoskeletal pain. He holds a PhD with a concentration in pain neuromodulation and studies how neuroplasticity can be leveraged to address the cognitive and emotional dimensions of pain.

His work explores innovative approaches such as non-invasive brain stimulation combined with psychologically informed physical therapy. Dr. Alcon teaches musculoskeletal practice and pain science and is passionate about helping clinicians better understand and treat chronic pain.

📚You will learn about:

• How pain catastrophizing and fear avoidance impact brain function and recovery

• A four-step approach: understanding pain, identifying protective responses, graded exposure, and functional progression

• How to apply pain neuroscience education and cognitive functional therapy in clinical practice

• Key research gaps and resources to improve your management of pain-related fear

🔎Cory's Resource of Information:

• Butler DS, Moseley GL. Explain pain. 2nd ed. Adelaide: Noigroup Publications; 2013.

• Noigroup

📲 Cory's contact information:

• calcon@highpoint.edu

• High Point

• Linkedin

• Facebook

• IG

🎥Link to interview on Youtube

👉 ⁠Share Your Feedback⁠

🎙Join our ⁠email list⁠ to receive podcast updates

📸⁠Instagram⁠

📱⁠Facebook⁠

💻⁠LinkedIn⁠

🐦⁠Twitter⁠

📩Email: ⁠mariana@ptprotalk.com⁠

PT Pro Talk Podcast is only possible with the support of forward-looking and innovative companies like Hanna Health⁠ and ⁠SaraHealth⁠.