This is like mind, like body, a podcast about the surprising ways our thoughts and feelings can impact our physical health. I'm your host, Laura Sego,

and on each episode I will speak with researchers, physicians, and ordinary people who have

incredible stories to tell about the power of the mind-body connection. For anyone who is not yet familiar with this show, we are a part of the curable world.

And if you like what you are learning here, then you should definitely check out the

curable app. It is the best first place to start if you are looking to apply these sorts of

concepts to your own chronic pain at home.

You can get started by trying it for free at curablehealth.com.

Today on the show, I am speaking with Dr. Les Aria, who has served as the lead pain psychologist

at Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in Northern California

for the past 16 years. He specializes in psychophysiologic disorders, persistent pain, and

medically unexplained problems. And if you are intrigued by what he has to say here today,

then you are in luck because he'll be speaking more deeply on all of these topics at the online World Pain Summit this weekend.

January 22nd through 24th. You can join virtually and you can find more information about how to register and how to join the

summit at opencenter.org. Without further ado, let's dive into the interview.

Dr. Aria, thank you so much for joining us on the show today. It's great to have you here.

It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

We have a lot to cover today, but I want to begin with some context setting for everyone.

So let's go over a brief explanation of your field, which is called rehabilitation psychology.

Now, you said in an interview once that rehabilitation psychology

has to do with the physical conditioning of someone through the mind. What do you mean by that

exactly? Yes, absolutely. You know, I break it down to three different components. The brain is like the laptop

and the hardware is the body. And then the software that runs it really is the mind. And the mind is

...