Taught by people who understand pain - Professionally and personally
Our teachers combine clinical expertise in pain management with their own lived experience of finding a different relationship with chronic pain.
Why teacher background matters
Learning mindfulness for chronic pain is different from general meditation instruction. You need teachers who understand pain neuroscience, who've worked with complex medical conditions, and who know the particular psychological territory of living with persistent pain - the fear, frustration, grief, and exhaustion that accompany it.
Our teaching team brings together backgrounds in medicine, physiotherapy, psychology, and nursing. More importantly, several have navigated their own chronic pain journeys. They know what they're asking of you because they've done it themselves.
Pain to Peace Teachers
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Dr Mandy Mercuri
MBSR and Pain to Peace teacher, chronic pain expert, PhD in environmental science, writer.
Dr Mandy Mercuri
MBSR and Pain to Peace teacher, chronic pain expert, PhD in environmental science, writer.
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Dr Adele Stewart
GP, psychotherapist, chronic pain expert, MBSR, Pain to Peace & Mindful Compassion teacher, retreat leader.
Dr Adele Stewart
GP, psychotherapist, chronic pain expert, MBSR, Pain to Peace & Mindful Compassion teacher, retreat leader.
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Our teaching approach
Shared principles across the team.
Medical Credibility Meets Personal Understanding
Every teacher in this program has either clinical training in pain management or personal experience with chronic pain - most have both. We don't teach pain mindfulness theoretically. We teach from understanding what it's like when pain dominates your day, when you've tried everything conventional medicine offers, when you're exhausted from the effort of just managing symptoms.
Evidence-Based & Adapted to Reality
We have adapted the standard MBSR protocol - the version with the strongest research evidence - and included new practices coming out of specialist research into pain. Lying down options for every meditation. Permission to move, adjust, modify. Recognition that some days you simply can't practice as instructed, and that's information rather than failure. The protocol is evidence-based; the delivery acknowledges your actual life.
No Minimising, No Miracle Promises
Our teachers won't tell you pain is "all in your head" or that positive thinking will cure you. We won't promise you'll be pain-free if you just meditate enough. What we will offer: honest discussion of what mindfulness can and can't do, realistic expectations based on research and experience, and practices that address the suffering dimension of pain even when pain intensity remains.
Skilful Holding of Difficulty
All our teachers have training in working with trauma, grief, and complex psychological states - because chronic pain involves all of these. We know how to work with the full catastrophe: the despair when another treatment fails, the rage at bodies that won't cooperate, the grief for the life you had before pain. Mindfulness isn't bypassing these experiences - it's learning to be present for them without being overwhelmed.
Between-Session Support:
Teachers are available via email between sessions for questions, challenges with practice, or difficulties that arise. We're not providing ongoing therapy or medical advice, but we are accessible for program-related support. If you're struggling with a practice, uncertain how to adapt something for a flare - up, or encountering unexpected responses, we want to hear about it.