“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” – Maya Angelou

This is a quote I try to live by every day. I do what I can to bring realistic hope to those who are experiencing stormy days or nights due to chronic pain. 

Although I had provided treatment for those with chronic pain during my career while working as a generalist for over a decade, it wasn’t until I experienced the daily impact of chronic pain after an injury in 2012 that I had a true understanding of the many ways in which pain can impact one’s sense of self and all aspects of their life. My world changed in almost every way, and none of it felt good. I went through periods of feeling frustrated, anxious, depressed and at times I felt scared and even hopeless. My sleep suffered due to my pain, as did most every other area of my life. Maybe I’ll write about it for the newsletter for those interested, but what I’ll say here is that it was rough. Fortunately, I have found relief! Pain is no longer a constant companion. In fact, I rarely experience mood impacting or function limiting physical pain anymore other than occasional brief flare ups due to overdoing something or failing to sufficiently care for myself. My experiences, and those I’ve learned of through providing treatment for hundreds of clients with pain (many of whom also suffered from sleep difficulties due to their pain or were relying on medications to sleep) have continued to fuel my passion for helping others whose lives have been negatively impacted by their physical pain. 

Dr. Heather Martarella completed her doctoral degree in psychology in 2005 and brings many years of experience in helping people reduce or resolve distress. Following a life-changing injury while on adventure travel in 2012, Dr. Martarella embarked on a mission to recover. Over the course of the next few years, she sought additional education, training, and mentoring and has been specializing in the treatment of chronic pain since 2014. She is driven by a deep empathy and an understanding of the ways that chronic physical pain can negatively impact all aspects of life.