Free Resources

Please note: Below, Lara marks with an * her most highly recommended resources to check out.
“NEW” in bold are all the newly added (not necessarily newly produced) resources.

First: Read about Lara’s Unique Perspective on ‘Structural’ and ‘Neuroplastic’

Lara has indisputable evidence to support her perspective, through both her own personal three decades-long medical journey as well as her years of clinical experience with clients who also live with decidedly structural issues (e.g., her clients with post-stroke dysautonomia, cancer, Parkinson’s, etc.). Lara is a passionate advocate for people with structural conditions and their right to be included in not excluded from this field. See Lara’s talk: Living with Structural AND Neuroplastic Pain (among others) on the Curable app for more of her perspective.

  • Lara was among the very first in the field to argue that structural symptoms and neuroplastic symptoms are NOT a BINARY - but more of a SPECTRUM. The field originally presented symptoms as an either or binary, and unfortunately, most people still see it that way today. The vast majority of practitioners ask people to “rule out structural conditions” before they will work with them, and people with any structural diagnoses are often left without anyone to help them. Lara does work with people with complex combinations of structural & neuroplastic symptomatology. (It’s her clinical niche, and she’s Curable’s expert — with first hand evidence! — on the topic.). She only asks that her clients rule out emergency medical situations, for which they should seek emergency medical attention.

  • People with structural issues find profound benefits in doing this work. It is not just for those with primarily neuroplastic symptoms. Although their ultimate outcomes may be different - everyone gains something beneficial. Healing just looks different for different people. See Lara’s Being Your Own Advocate interview for her personal examples — and some of Lara’s self-created tools — for how she uses mindbody empowerment & neuroplastic methods to help her with her structural condition (evidence that this work can help you too, even if you have any structural issues).

““I listened to your Live Event on Curable which I found incredibly helpful and now I am making my way through all the free resources on your website. My new mantra is “I am not afraid of the storms….” Thank you — this is profound and transformational and makes me feel I can sail my ship with confidence and skill.” — Janey Mallin

Terminology

Please Note: First, when Lara says “pain,” she is usually using this as an umbrella term for all kinds of chronic symptoms (fatigue, dizziness, IBS, migraines, etc.).

Second, there are many terms for the kind of pain & physical symptoms we are talking about here, and there are also several that overlap with one other but are not always identical. It can be quite confusing! Here’s a quick primer:

  • *Neuroplastic Symptoms - the term most frequently used in the field today; again, neuroplastic symptoms are different than structrural (see above)

  • Neural Pathway Symptoms - a synonym for neuroplastic symptoms

  • *Nociplastic Symptoms - coming out of recent neuroscience research, seen as a synonym for neuroplastic symptoms

  • Primary Pain - the new classifications of chronic pain coming out of the WHO in the upcoming ICD-11, synonym for neuroplastic pain. Secondary pain is pain that is subsequent to an injury, illness, or disease.

  • Mind-Body Syndrome - Dr. Howard Schubiner uses this interchangeably with “TMS”

  • Neural Circuit Disorder - Dr. Howard Schubiner’s more recent term, instead of MBS or TMS

  • Psychophysiological Disorder (PPD) - developed by Dr. David Clarke (Dr. Clarke also calls this “Stress Illness”) - in September 2024, Dr. Clarke renamed his organization from PPDA to ATNS (Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms)

  • *CSS (Central Sensitization Syndrome) - a diagnosis given by some medical doctors for a nervous system that has become hypersensitive (can overlap with CRPS)

  • CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) - CRPS is thought to be different from but overlapping with neuroplastic pain. CRPS Type 2 is following an injury to the nerve and is the new term for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), whereas CRPS Type 1 is for those without an originating injury to the nerve and is therefore thought by many in the field to be the same as neuroplastic pain or primary pain

  • AMPS (Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome) or Myofascial Pain Syndrome- diagnoses given by some medical doctors for chronic pain in the muscles, joints, or other parts of the body, without any originating injury or underlying inflammation

  • Psychosomatic Illness or Somatoform Disorder - terminology stemming from the work of Sigmund Freud (and Charcot and others) on “hysteria” in women in the late 19th & early 20th centuries

  • Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) - “TMS” is neuroplastic pain’s original name, coined by John Sarno, M.D. in 1999.   But please note that while the new neuroscience research on chronic pain has taken us well beyond Dr. Sarno’s original ideas, people still widely use the term “TMS” to refer to a wide range of mind-body symptomatology. Sometimes people call it “Tension Myoneural Syndrome” attempting to bring the TMS term more up to date. This is not a term Lara uses given how it does not reflect current neuroscience and neuroplastic symptoms are only on occasion due to from “tension” or “myositis” (muscle inflammation)

New IASP Definition of Pain

For the first time in over 50 years, the IASP (International Association for the Study of Pain) updated its definition of pain to include the notion that pain can come from the brain without any tissue damage and that this kind of pain is just as real as pain which stems from tissue damage.  As of July 2020, IASP’s new definition of pain is:  

“An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.

  • Pain is always a personal experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological, and social factors.

  • Pain and nociception are different phenomena. Pain cannot be inferred solely from activity in sensory neurons.

  • Through their life experiences, individuals learn the concept of pain.

  • A person’s report of an experience as pain should be respected.

  • Although pain usually serves an adaptive role, it may have adverse effects on function and social and psychological well-being.

  • Verbal description is only one of several behaviors to express pain; inability to communicate does not negate the possibility that a human or a nonhuman animal experiences pain.”

Lara’s Free Library of Somatic Tracking & Guided Meditations

Here they are roughly in order of creation. If you’d like, you could also purchase a Personalized Audio Recording. (Lara will weave in your favorite mantras, messages, metaphors, etc. Email Lara to get started.)

Lara’s Other Free Offerings

Audio Recordings (by Other Practitioners)

Educational Videos about Chronic Pain and Other Chronic Symptoms

Podcast Episodes (Pain-Specific)

Podcast Episodes (Related Topics)

Research Articles (Pain-Specific)

Articles organized in chronological order, with most recent first:

Articles or Videos (Related Topics)

Book Recommendations (MindBody or Pain-Specific)

Organized in somewhat random order:

  • NEW: Minding Your Body (2025) by Nicole Sachs, LCSW

  • NEW: The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook (2024) by Vanessa M. Blackstone, MSW and Olivia S. Sinaiko, LPC

  • NEW: Outsmart Your Pain (2021) by Dr. Christiane Wolf

  • *The Pain-Free M.I.N.D.S.E.T. (2021) by Deepak Ravindran, M.D.

  • *Explain Pain (2003) by David Butler, Ph.D. and G. Lorimer Moseley, Ph.D.

  • *The Way Out (2021) by Alan Gordon

  • The Pain Management Workbook (2020) by Rachel Zoffness

  • *The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in Healing Trauma (2014) by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

  • *The Myth of Normal (2021) by Gabor Mate

  • *When the Body Says No (2003) by Gabor Mate 

  • Unlearn Your Pain (2010) by Howard Schubiner, M.D.

  • Unlearn Your Anxiety and Depression (2016) by Howard Schubiner, M.D.

  • Freedom from Nervous Suffering (1973) by Dr. Claire Weekes

  • Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness (2022) by Meghan O’Rourke

  • They Can’t Find Anything Wrong (2007) by Dr. David Clarke

  • You are the Placebo (2014) by Dr. Joe Dispenza

  • The Last Best Cure (2013) by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

  • The Mindbody Prescription (1998) by John Sarno, M.D.

  • The Divided Mind (2006) by Dr. John Sarno, M.D.

  • Back Sense (2001) by Ronald Siegel, Ph.D.

  • Writing to Heal (2004) by James Pennebaker, Ph.D.

  • Back in Control (2012) by David Hanscom, M.D.

Book Recommendations (Related Topics)

Organized in somewhat random order:

  • NEW: The Complex PTSD Workbook (2017) by Dr. Arielle Schwartz

  • *NEW: The Let Them Theory (2025) by Mel Robbins (empowerment strategy that comes closest to Lara’s personal emphasis on Agency)

  • *NEW: The Next Conversation (2025) by Jefferson Fisher (empowering communication strategies / having tough conversations)

  • NEW: The Internal Family Systems Workbook: A Guide to Discover Your Self and Heal Your Parts (2024) by Dr. Richard Schwartz

  • NEW: The Self-Led Internal Family Systems Workbook: Learn IFS Skills to Understand and Love All Your Parts (2025) by Tanis Allen, LMSW and Cece Sykes, LCSW

  • The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life (2022) by David Robson

  • Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (1997) by Peter A. Levine

  • Burnout: The Key to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (2019) by Amelia Nagoski

  • Radical Compassion (2019) by Tara Brach, Ph.D.

  • Self-Compassion (2013) by Kristin Neff, Ph.D.

  • Hardwiring Happiness (2013) by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

  • When Things Fall Apart (2006) by Pema Chödrön

  • Radical Acceptance (2003) by Tara Brach, Ph.D.

  • Heart Minded: How to Hold Yourself and Others in Love (2020) by Sarah Blondin

Poems

Poems that are inspiring for this work.

Charts & Illustrations

Illustrations & charts related to this work.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor E. Frankl