Who We Are

Paulina Soble is the Co-Founder and operations lead of the Pain Reprocessing Therapy Center. Paulina has presented at various chronic pain conferences, aiming to build a comprehensive network of certified practitioners to treat the millions who suffer from chronic pain. In addition to her clinical work with clients, Paulina spearheads the development of new initiatives, professional trainings, and educational resources to expand the reach of pain reprocessing therapy and improve access to mental health and healthcare professionals as well as patients.

Daniella Deutsch is the Co-Founder, content developer, and lead trainer at the Pain Reprocessing Therapy Center, training and certifying thousands of mental health clinicians and practitioners across various health disciplines. Daniella has presented on the topic of pain treatment at conferences and trainings internationally and is currently involved in a PRT clinical trial and ongoing pain research. She is a psychotherapist treating chronic pain using evidence-based practices to reduce pain and improve mind and body wellness.

Yoni K. Ashar is an assistant professor and director of the Pain and Emotion Research Lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He completed his doctorate in clinical psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder and an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine. Yoni’s research uses functional MRI brain imaging, natural language processing, and other clinical and computational tools to understand how mind and brain processes influence health, especially chronic pain. A main research focus is investigating a new class of psychological and neuroscience-based treatments aiming for recovery from chronic pain. His research has been featured on NBC’s Today Show, Washington Post, WSJ, and other media outlets.

Dr. Howard Schubiner is board-certified in pediatrics and internal medicine and is the director of the Mind Body Medicine Center at Providence Hospital in Southfield, MI. He is a Clinical Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine and has authored over 60 publications in scientific journals and books. Dr. Schubiner has collaborated extensively with Mark Lumley, PhD, to develop Emotion Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), which has been tested in various formats for people with different chronic pain conditions and found to be not only effective compared to treatment as usual but superior to CBT in two trials. EAET is now listed as a treatment option in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Pain Management Best Practices Inter-agency Task Force Report. Dr. Schubiner is part of the team that conducted the Boulder back pain study, demonstrating that people with chronic back pain treated with Pain Reprocessing Therapy can fully recover.

Charlie Merrill is a physiotherapist, educator, content creator, consultant for emerging health technology companies, footwear designer, inventor, and athlete. Charlie is working to change the paradigm around how people understand and address pain and other physical symptoms. He co-developed the Beyond Pain Education course with Dr. Howard Schubiner, MD. His mission is to provide clients with creative, personalized, and effective solutions to the physical limitations preventing them from performing at their best in athletics and in life. You can learn more about Charlie’s work at www.Mperformance.com.

Dr. Brad Fanestil is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and has practiced as both a primary care internist and a hospitalist in Colorado for most of his career. For several years, he was the
Director of Inpatient Care at Avista Hospital in Louisville, working exclusively in hospitals and ICUs. In 2017, he began researching and learning about new theories in neuroscience, largely
supported by functional MRI (fMRI) data, that are beginning to explain the emotional connections between mind and body. When he started bringing these new ideas to his primary care patients, many of his most complicated and frustrated patients started getting better. He now runs the Boulder Institute for Mind Body Medicine, where he teaches patients and clinicians how to use these tools to rewire the neural circuitry of anxiety and chronic pain.

Daniel G. Lyman is a psychotherapist and Executive Director of the Portland, OR-based Mind Body Therapy Center. He specializes in the treatment of chronic pain, anxiety, OCD, and sexuality. He earned both a master’s degree in Social Work and Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He has been working in healthcare for over a decade, and has worked with thousands of clients to overcome pain on 6 continents (still waiting on Antarctica). Beyond his work in the mental and medical health field, Daniel is a playwright, runner, and dog-lover.

John Gasienica brings personal understanding and empathy alongside contemporary methodology to clients experiencing pain, anxiety, and depression. Using a light-hearted demeanor, John uniquely caters Pain Reprocessing Therapy with a cognitive behavioral and mindfulness-based approach to each individual client. John received his master’s degree from the University of Southern California and leads the Business Development and Outreach Program at the Pain Psychology Center.

Melany Cohen is a psychotherapist and certified hypnotherapist, specializing in the treatment of chronic pain. Her own positive experience with overcoming years of debilitating pain inspired her to make a life-transforming decision. She gave up her law career so that she could pursue her true passion to become a healer and motivator. Utilizing pain reprocessing techniques, Melany incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy, guided imagery, and mindfulness-based stress reduction to support patients in their recovery process.

Mike Averill is a psychotherapist specializing in Pain Reprocessing Therapy. Mike incorporates knowledge from meditation and breathwork traditions into his general approach to therapy. He emphasizes the natural tendency of the nervous system to seek out wellness by prioritizing the development of a relative sense of safety. He also weaves in tools to build self-compassion, resilience, and less rigid ways of thinking and being. Mike received his master’s degree from the University of Southern California, is certified in yoga and breathwork, and is in training for Somatic Experiencing.

Alan Gordon is the Executive Director of the Pain Psychology Center in Los Angeles. Gordon recently completed a groundbreaking neuroimaging study on the efficacy of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) in conjunction with the University of Colorado-Boulder. He was featured on CBS’s The Doctors, where he conducted the first fMRI case study of a patient eliminating chronic pain. He is an adjunct assistant professor at USC and has presented on the topic of pain treatment at conferences and trainings throughout the country.