You may wish to explore a session if you are experiencing pain that persists, fluctuates, or recurs beyond the expected healing period of three months, continues despite diagnosis or treatment, or exists even when no clear damage is present.

OldPain2Go® is a gentle, collaborative process. Sessions are conducted with you, not to you, and you remain fully in control at all times. There’s no need to relive trauma, revisit physical events, or enter a trance state. The approach combines science, logic, and human connection, delivered through a focused, single-session framework. This structure supports the nervous system in recognising that the pain is no longer needed, helping individuals experience meaningful and often transformative relief.

Pain management, medication, and medical interventions often focus on controlling symptoms or addressing the immediate, foreground hurt. OldPain2Go® works differently, it directly engages the brain’s learned patterns and predictive mechanisms that often sustain chronic pain, addressing the root cause or background harm.

By combining a logical, science-informed perspective with subtle brain–body communication techniques, OldPain2Go® engages automatic processes that often operate beyond conscious awareness. This helps individuals understand why protective responses persist and guides the brain to re-evaluate the level of threat in light of current circumstances. In doing so, the nervous system can complete its learning and stand down from unnecessary protection, allowing long-term pain to be released safely.

OldPain2Go® began independently with Steven in 2011, before he was aware of these pioneers’ work.

While the approach has distinct differences, we hold great respect for the contributions of these researchers, whose work has shown that long-term pain is often a protective brain response rather than a sign of ongoing tissue damage, and highlighting that the same neural pathways process both the sensory and emotional aspects of pain.

Steven created OldPain2Go® based on a simple, logical principle: pain holds a message the brain is trying to communicate. When this message is understood and addressed, the process completes and the system resets, suggesting that chronic pain does not always signal damage, but may reflect an incomplete protective process. By combining this insight with his expertise in other therapeutic models, Steven developed a unique approach that helps people affected by pain while training professionals to deliver relief worldwide.

Where OldPain2Go® stands out is its innovative, logical perspective and effective, direct practical approach.

Many models describe chronic pain as maladaptive, oversensitive, or misfiring. While such descriptions are often well-intended and aim to explain the complexity of pain, when used without exploring the individual’s unique circumstances, they can unintentionally imply that something within them is malfunctioning. This can heighten the brain’s sense of threat, amplify the pain experience, lead to disregarding the pain’s message, and, perhaps more significantly, create the impression that recovery must be slow or out of reach.

We believe that, from the brain's perspective, all pain serves a purpose: to signal that it still perceives a need for protection. What makes our approach unique is that we do not view chronic pain as a malfunction to be managed, but as a meaningful message to be Revealed, Resolved, Reset, and Released.

Rather than gradually re-training the brain, OldPain2Go® integrates the latest neuroscience insights, with subtle brain–body communication techniques to directly engage the automatic processes that often operate beyond conscious awareness. This harnesses the brain’s natural ability to re-evaluate and reset unnecessary protective responses, predominantly within a single focused session, prioritising the release of pain and allowing other recovery and rehabilitation strategies to work with greater ease, clarity, and effectiveness. This focus on rapid, purposeful relief has made a remarkable difference for thousands of individuals and forms a cornerstone of our methodology that is taught to medical and wellbeing professionals globally.

Steven’s message through OldPain2Go® is simple: when pain becomes chronic, it suggests that it is not necessarily damage, and it is vital to consider the brain’s role. He warmly encourages people to explore the remarkable results witnessed by practitioners worldwide, share in the insights, and invites individuals to see how this approach can make a real difference in their lives.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and OldPain2Go® both support individuals living with long-term pain, yet they approach the experience from different angles. CBT is designed to help a person understand how thoughts, emotions, and behaviours influence their pain, often teaching practical skills for managing stress, reframing unhelpful beliefs, and building resilience over time. It is a structured psychological therapy that supports someone in navigating the pain experience more effectively, much like learning to steer more confidently through changing weather.

OldPain2Go® works differently. Instead of focusing primarily on coping strategies or shifting thoughts, it engages directly with the brain’s predictive mechanisms and protective patterns that can sustain chronic pain. Where CBT helps shape the person’s relationship with pain, OldPain2Go® aims to help the system stand down from unnecessary protection altogether. Both approaches respect the science of neuroplasticity and the biopsychosocial nature of pain, and many professionals see them as complimentary rather than competing.

Together, they offer a broader landscape of support: CBT helps someone develop clarity and confidence in how they navigate their world, while OldPain2Go® invites the brain to complete an outdated protective process and move towards relief.

Parts Therapy is a therapeutic approach that involves identifying and working with different ‘parts’ of a person’s psyche, often rooted in Internal Family Systems or similar models. It focuses on resolving conflicts or trauma by helping these parts work together more harmoniously.

In contrast, OldPain2Go® focuses on updating the brain’s perception of pain. Rather than exploring internal parts, it addresses the brain’s predictive mechanisms and learned patterns that maintain chronic pain. The goal is to help the brain recognise that the pain is no longer needed, allowing the nervous system to reset and release long-term pain, without necessarily delving into internal psychological parts.

Hypnotherapy typically involves guiding someone into a deeply relaxed state, often called a trance, to access the subconscious mind. In this state, the therapist may help the individual reframe or resolve issues, including pain, by suggesting positive changes or new perspectives.

OldPain2Go®, however, does not rely on a trance state, it focuses on helping the brain recognise that the pain is no longer needed through subtle brain–body communication techniques that directly engage the automatic processes which often operate beyond conscious awareness. By harnessing the brain’s natural capacity for re-evaluation in this way, we can help it update 'old' interpretations of harm, gently recalibrate predictive processing, and reset unnecessary protective responses - helping individuals achieve significant pain reduction, or complete release. 

Many practitioners trained with the Barral Institute find that OldPain2Go® works seamlessly alongside their hands-on skills. Both approaches respect the body’s intelligence and the brain’s role in regulating protection and pain. The Barral Institute’s work uses precise manual techniques to ease restrictions and support natural regulation.

OldPain2Go® complements this by helping the brain reassess long-term protective patterns that may continue even after tissues have healed. Through calm dialogue and clear explanation, individuals are guided to understand the purpose behind persistent pain and, when appropriate, to update that response.

At present, most of the research on OldPain2Go®’s consists of short-term observational data, university-led research and practitioner-reported outcomes, which already show remarkable results, predominantly within a single focused session. Because our approach focuses on resolving pain at its root rather than managing it continuously, the need for traditional long-term follow-up is less critical. In many cases, once the pain is released, it does not return, meaning that the effects are lasting and there is nothing further to manage.

That said, we recognise the importance of rigorous research to support wider adoption and understanding. Ongoing studies and future collaborations with researchers aim to formally document outcomes over months and years, contributing to the scientific evidence base. In the meantime, extensive practitioner experience and numerous case reports provide strong real-world evidence of the therapy’s sustained impact, offering reassurance to both practitioners and individuals seeking lasting relief.