Start here
“Your pain is real and I believe you.”
STEP1
Watch Jo's One Thing
Start with Jo’s sequence.
▶
Open on YouTube
Then go here
Move toward realistic hope, clearer understanding, and more life around pain.
STEP2
Create a little script you can use under pressure
Make it sound like you. Keep the message the same.
Your pain is real and I believe you.
One example:
Your pain is real and I believe you. Let’s start there and work out together what helps.
Another example:
I can see this has been hard. I believe your pain is real, and we can look at some next steps together.
STEP3
Validation opens the door
Validation can be the foundation of treatment. It is often the first step that opens the door to more trust, more capacity, and more possibilities.
Make belief visible Tap to reveal. ⌄
Many people in pain have already been doubted, dismissed, or made to feel they have to prove themselves. When you say belief out loud, you reduce the need for the patient to keep defending their experience. That changes the tone of the interaction straight away.
Trust carries the science Tap to reveal. ⌄
Once the person feels believed, pain education and collaborative planning land better. Validation helps create enough safety for new information to be heard. If the interaction still feels doubtful or adversarial, even good science can sound like another dismissal.
Aim for more life Tap to reveal. ⌄
Jo’s shift was not simply about reducing pain intensity. It became about getting back to the parts of life that made her feel like herself. The clinical target is not only “less pain”. It is helping the person move toward what matters again.
STEP4
Use language that builds people up
Tap a phrase clinicians often reach for. Then swap it for something stronger.
STEP5
Practice under pressure
Here are some scenarios to practise what you could say in clinic. Say your version first. Then compare.
Try it in an AI chatbot
This is a simple next step after the roleplay cards above. Copy the prompt below, paste it into a chatbot, and use it to test your new validation skills in a tougher conversation.
I am a physiotherapy student learning how to communicate complex pain concepts. I want you to act as a simulated patient named Gary so I can practice listening and explaining. You are a 54-year-old bricklayer who is skeptical, defensive, and firmly believes his back is physically broken, often using the phrase "crumbling like an old biscuit."
Please start the conversation immediately with this exact line: "Look, I’ve been told my back is crumbling like an old biscuit. I can’t move or I’ll damage it more. Don't tell me it's in my head."
Stay strictly in character. Keep your responses very brief, ideally under two sentences, as you are a man of few words. If I type a long paragraph (more than three sentences) or use any medical jargon like "central sensitization," get annoyed and ask me to "speak English" or "slow down." Do not accept my explanation easily; make me work to win your trust.
Continue this roleplay until I type the command //FEEDBACK. Once I type that, break character and act as my clinical educator. Review the transcript and give me a pass/fail grade based on three things: did I validate Gary's fear before explaining the science, did I provide a tangible non-medical metaphor to replace the biscuit image, and was my language completely free of jargon?
EDU+
For educators
Use this for teaching, debriefing, or supervision.
Discussion prompts Simple prompts, practical answers. ⌄
Where should clinicians start? Tap to reveal. ⌄
Start with explicit belief: “Your pain is real and I believe you.” Jo’s message is that this should be said, not just assumed.
What changed in Jo’s idea of success? Tap to reveal. ⌄
Success became less about driving pain intensity down and more about increasing life around pain: reconnecting with meaningful activities, people, and identity.
What language shift matters most? Tap to reveal. ⌄
Use language that builds people up. Focus more on adaptability, resilience, courage, and inherent strength, and less on making the person feel defective or broken.
TAKEHOME
Take-home note
Read it together, then take a screenshot or print it for the patient.
Patient take-home Short and strengths-based. ⌄
For the days pain gets loud
Your pain is real.
You do not have to prove it here.
You are believed.
- You have already shown strength by getting through hard days and still turning up.
- You still have capacity for change, even if things feel stuck right now.
- Small steps toward what matters are real progress.
You already carry persistence, adaptability, and courage. Care can build on those strengths.
Take a screenshot, print it, or share it with the patient before they leave.
Read the first few lines with the patient. Pause. Then connect the note to one next step that helps them feel more like themselves again. If you have feedback or ideas for future modules, the One Thing team would love to hear from you.
You’re ready to try this in clinic
Start with belief. Keep your language simple. Help the person move toward more life. Then come back and refine your script as you use it.
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