Educational approach | Pain clinic for students with chronic pain at HvA

Thomas Wollersheim is a lecturer in Applied Psychology at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) and founder of the “Pain Cluppie,” an initiative as a pain aid for students with chronic pain. As an expert by experience, due to a long-term knee injury without cartilage suffered on the soccer field, he decided six years ago to use his own experiences to help others. Since then, a growing number of students know the way to the “Pain Clue.

The creation of the ‘Pain Clue’

The “Pain Clue” originated as a side project of Thomas’ alongside his work as a teacher. When he talked about managing chronic pain in his classes, students who were struggling with it came up to him after class. As a result, he realized that chronic pain is common among students and decided to do something about it.

The first pilot took place last year with Applied Psychology students, and received positive feedback. One challenge was reaching students who keep their pain hidden. Thanks to collaboration with student associations and deans, the project gained awareness, which led to enough applications to start the “Pain Clubs” program. In December, the first 0 measurement was taken and in the following months seven participants went through the pain program. In the summer was the 1 measurement, and the results were promising: less pain, more control over pain and a higher quality of life. It should be noted here, however, that the sample size (N=7) was not large enough for reliable statements.

Supporting students with chronic pain

The “Pain Clue” works according to the biopsychosocial model, which combines biological, psychological and social factors to create a complete picture of health. Thomas emphasizes that this approach is essential for understanding and effectively supporting people with chronic pain. In the “Pain Clue,” we focus mainly on the processing of the pain signal in the brain. The longer you have pain, the stronger the brain can anchor the pain. In students, Thomas sees opportunities because their pain is less “ingrained” in the brain, making patterns easier to break.

“The brain plays a major role in how pain is experienced”

Through the discussions in the “Pain Cluster,” it became clear again that pain has an isolating effect; students increasingly withdraw from social life, attend less classes and do less of the things that make them happy. While these very things can be pain relieving. So the behavior that students demonstrate tends to backfire. With pain education, Thomas hopes to raise awareness. “Currently, only 4% of Dutch people with chronic pain have received education about pain, even though the guidelines require it. There is a huge gap in knowledge about how pain works and how it affects us. Pain is not only a physical sensation, but also a psychological and social phenomenon. And this is where we have control.

The human side of pain

Thomas emphasizes that chronic pain is more than just a physical condition. “The experience of pain touches on other facets of life, In my case, I think back to the fear of a duel on the field, the sadness that I could no longer see my friends, the worry that the pain wouldn’t go away, and the thought that the pain meant that my knees would break down even more. By making such themes discussable, we can better understand and control the pain.”

“The ‘Pain Clubs’ provides not only a platform for education and support, but also for mutual contact between students. Spread over six months, we meet every month for 1.5 hours to talk about pain. What I get back from students is that they experienced these sessions as positive. The group meetings allowed them to learn from each other and feel less alone with their pain. They liked being able to talk about it openly without feeling sorry for themselves,” Thomas said.

Future of the ‘Pain Clue’

After the pilot within the Applied Psychology program, Thomas is now working on expanding the ‘Pain Clue’ to other programs within the HvA. This is going quite well he indicates, there are already applications from the HRM, Biomedical Technology and Cybersecurity studies. Thomas hopes that the approachability of the ‘Pain Cluppie’ can win students over. “They don’t have to go to a pain clinic or rehabilitation center, they can just work on their pain at school, together with other students who understand exactly what they are going through.”

The future looks hopeful for the “Pain Clue. The project continues to grow and may play an important role in supporting students with chronic pain. In the future, Thomas hopes to introduce the initiative to other educational institutions. This is something he would like to discuss.

Learn more

Are you, or do you know, a student who could use help with chronic pain? Then visit the Pain-changer website for more information. Also read student experiences with the “Pain Clue.