Why Leaders Against Pain?

With major changes in healthcare access and delivery, the patient voice has never been more important.

LEADERS AGAINST PAIN™ (LAP) provides the skills training for leadership development of people who can positively impact their communities, states, and nation through creating events, working with the media, or facilitating support groups. Understanding critical issues facing the chronic pain community, Advocate Leaders Against Pain join with affiliated groups to develop coordinated campaigns responsive to legislation, access to healthcare access barriers, and education to reduce the stigmatization of people with chronic pain illnesses (like IBS, TMD, VD, and migraine). Support/Education Group Leaders Against Pain create monthly community-based meetings for people with chronic pain illnesses and their loved ones for support by sharing ideas and learning together about how to live a better quality of life. Similar basic skills sets are needed by both Advocate Leaders and Support/Education Group Leaders. Advanced training and networking enhance the different types of Leader-developed events, whether in a monthly group setting, an annual advocacy awareness event, or media interaction.

The Leaders Against Pain program is a nonpartisan, person-to-person, leadership development program sponsored by the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association. Our mission is to provide the very best training in the world for people who want to improve their own lives and help others. We train people to participate effectively with campaigns and to advance their positions as trusted resources in their communities. We value leaders who are capable of building relationships regardless of political point-of-view. And we will consider, on a case-by-case basis, the experience and long-term commitment of people who want to become a member of the Leaders Against Pain program without attending an in-person training.

We bring women and men together nationally and internationally to learn the skills and strategies to run successful events. We recruit the top consultants in the media, medical, and education to teach at our program. We focus on our common needs and experiences to deliver top quality training. For three days our participants are put through an intense advocacy immersion program designed to teach media, advocacy, issue awareness, support group facilitation, campaign skills, strategic assessment, and improvisation. We bring experienced advocate operatives in to teach and share their perspectives in a reflective manner.

Not all advocacy training is the same.

What makes our training stand out from other educational opportunities? Our unique curriculum is designed by--and for--people with chronic pain conditions to address the particular cultural challenges faced by people seeking appropriate, affordable, and accessible pain health care. Leaders come from varied backgrounds with personal interests in how to be involved in ADVOCACY and SUPPORT GROUP leadership. The Leaders Against Pain program focuses on these two areas of training and support.

Leaders Against Pain training takes place in a small-group setting designed to increase opportunities for networking among participants.

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