Healthcare Testimonials
Dr. Paul Gorsuch was the neurosurgeon who became Becky’s consultant and cheerleader after her accident. He knew that her pain was one of the most difficult to control and was amazed at how she learned to live without medications. “While she does not have formal medical training, I have found her expertise, knowledge in this area, and ability to apply it to patients to exceed that of many professionals I work with. For patients willing to engage and address a cognitive and general health approach to their pain, there is a very high probability they will have marked improvement,” he stated. The patients he referred to TCC gave the most glowing testimonials for pain relief.
Roy Elam, MD, collaborated with Becky to provide the Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health staff with coaching skills. He’s inspired by her trustworthiness, dedication to healing and the disciplined program she’s envisioned and created. “The outcome data she is tracking…substantiates the efficacy of TCC,” he notes.
Gary Lusin is a Physical Therapist who has assembled a comprehensive therapy and rehabilitation program in Bozeman, Montana. He partners with Take Courage Coaching on patients who can benefit from additional education and support, and notes that the TCC program “has offered these patients an excellent educational and supportive service to help them move to a higher level of function.”
Jeffrey Hazlewood, MD, is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Management/Pain Medicine. He realized long ago that treating chronic pain patients and weaning them off potentially dangerous opioids requires a multi-disciplinary pain management approach. “So much of chronic pain does not involve an ‘anatomical pain generator’ that causes the nociceptive or neuralgic pain experience,” he says. More important are the “psychological aspects of the pain—the stressors in life, the pre-existing psychological factors, the family and friend support mechanisms, the anger in the work comp cases, the depression and anxiety, the lack of faith and spiritual belief systems, and the pills and procedures we as Doctors dish out on these patients—all lead to the pain experience and, therefore, true chronic pain syndrome. This is a large reason why the multiple surgeries, injections, spinal cord stimulators, and medications often do no good and actually often worsen the condition.” He acknowledges that, since Take Courage Coaching is geared toward offering support for the psychological aspects of pain, he has referred several patients with very positive results. One patient who desperately wanted a second surgery was reluctant to go through coaching, but after 3 months her pain improved 50-75%, she was sleeping and functioning better, and “she now comes to appointments smiling and saying this program gave her back her life. She no longer wants surgery.” This program, Dr. Hazelwood says, “is a critical part of the treatment plan of so many chronic pain patients.”
“I’ve had the privilege of working with the Take Courage Coaching pain coaching program for years with multiple patients. I am grateful for the consistent work they do with this challenging population. Becky Curtis and her team really “get” chronic pain and the need for functional restoration and attention to mood and thoughts. They provide an essential service for our patients after they leave the inpatient setting.” – Dr. Mel Pohl, Las Vegas Recovery Center
