Heal Your Chronic Pelvic Pain

Rachel Gofman, DPT

The Heal Your Chronic Pelvic Pain Podcast helps you heal chronic pelvic pain through a proven mind-body approach. Hosted by Rachel Gofman, DPT – a pelvic pain coach and physical therapist who overcame years of her own pain — each episode gives you science-based tools and compassionate guidance to partner with your nervous system to heal symptoms and reclaim your life.

  1. 4d ago

    Sex, Intimacy, and Chronic Pelvic Pain: The Conversation We Need to Have (with Vanessa Blackstone)

    Let's talk about the part of chronic pelvic pain that doesn't get discussed nearly enough. Sex. Intimacy. Navigating Relationships. The fear that your partner might leave. The pressure to push through discomfort. In this episode, I'm joined by my friend and colleague Vanessa Blackstone, Executive Director of the Pain Psychology Center, for an honest and nuanced conversation about sex, intimacy, chronic pelvic pain, and healing. Together, we explore the ways shame, cultural conditioning, people-pleasing, and nervous system patterns can shape our relationship with sex and our bodies. We also explore: • Why conversations about sex are often missing from the chronic pain and mind-body healing space • The cultural messages many women receive about sex, pleasure, and their bodies • How people-pleasing and perfectionism can impact intimacy • Why creating safety with yourself matters before creating safety with a partner • Dating and navigating intimacy while living with chronic pelvic pain • Rebuilding trust with your body after years of symptoms This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt disconnected from their body, afraid of intimacy, or unsure how to move forward when pain has impacted their relationship with sex. You are not broken. You are not alone. And there is another way forward. Connect with Vanessa: Instagram: @that.therapist PRT Workbook Vanessa’s Substack: https://substack.com/@vanessablackstone Connect with Rachel:  IG: thepelvicpaincoach Get Your Free Pain Flare Plan Book A Pelvic Pain Strategy Session Get on the waitlist for Beyond Chronic Pelvic Pain (doors opening again this summer) Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    1h 17m
  2. May 22

    How To Trust Yourself (with Anna Holtzman)

    In this episode, I’m joined by my friend and colleague, Anna Holtzman, for a conversation about self-trust, visibility, nervous system healing, and what happens after symptoms stop being the center of your life. We talk about the often-overlooked phase of healing where life starts opening back up again… and how terrifying that can feel when your nervous system has learned to associate visibility, expansion, creativity, and authenticity with danger. Together, we explore:  Why healing often involves shrinking your world before expanding it again The fear of nervous system “repercussions” when you start taking up more space How perfectionism, people pleasing, and over-self-reliance disconnect us from ourselves The difference between regret and grief Why self-trust doesn’t mean certainty The role of co-regulation and safe relationships in healing The transition from borrowing belief to learning to self-source safety and trust Why “getting the right tool” can eventually become another protective strategy How to begin repairing your relationship with yourselfThis episode is for anyone who feels stuck between wanting more for their life and feeling terrified to fully step into it. About Anna: Anna Holtzman is a licensed therapist and coach who helps high-achieving women move through the fear of visibility and emerge into a truer expression of their work and identity. After 15 years in TV and publishing, Anna experienced firsthand how burnout, chronic pain, and repeated self-silencing can arise when success is driven by pressure rather than self-trust. Her own healing led her to nervous-system-informed tools that helped her reconnect with her voice and show up more honestly in her work. Now she supports other women in doing the same, melting through imposter syndrome, bringing their most authentic visions to life, and allowing themselves to be seen without performing. She lives in Queens with her husband, stepdaughter, and three orange cats, and hosts the podcast How to Trust Yourself. Connect with Anna:  Website: AnnaHoltzman.com Free workshop: Let Yourself Be Seen Instagram: @anna_holtzman Podcast: How to Trust YourselfAnna’s Email: Anna@annaholtzman.comConnect with Rachel:  IG: thepelvicpaincoachGet Your Free Pain Flare PlanGet on the waitlist for a Pelvic Pain Strategy SessionGet on the waitlist for Beyond Chronic Pelvic Pain (doors opening early summer)  Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    1h 1m
  3. May 15

    Client Story: Shawna's IC symptoms had her frozen in fear. Now she's training for a ballroom competition.

    Shawna spent nearly three years doing everything right. She saw the specialists. She did the rounds of antibiotics (eight of them). She cut out every food on the IC list and tracked her symptoms by the hour. She had a compassionate pelvic PT in her corner. She had done everything she was supposed to do. But she was still having debilitating symptoms. And she was still terrified. Her healthcare providers were doing their absolute best, but they were running out of new ways to help her. So her pelvic PT referred her to me. Now, Shawna is training for her next ballroom competition in August. She took three international trips in three months. She is setting boundaries, speaking up for herself, and she often forgets she ever had symptoms at all. In this episode, Shawna shares her full story. The diagnosis that changed how she thought about her body. The way dance, her biggest passion, became her biggest trigger. The loneliness of living with symptoms that the people in your life can never understand. And how she got to where she is now, living her life beyond chronic pelvic pain. I am so grateful to Shawna for being willing to share her story so openly and honestly. It takes courage, and I know it's going to mean so much to the people listening. We talk about: Her diagnosis of interstitial cystitis Why dance became a trigger, and what was actually happening in her nervous systemThe hypervigilance spiral: tracking, dietary restriction, and what all of it was really doing to her systemWhat made her open to mind-body work when so many people resist itThe specific tools that helped most, including EFT tapping, visualization, and parts workWhat it feels like to say "I like who I am" and actually mean itWhere her symptoms are now, and how she thinks about flare-ups differentlyIf you've been told your pain is something you just have to live with, this episode is for you. Resources & Links: Follow me on Instagram: @thepelvicpaincoachGet Your Free Pain Flare Plan (download): https://thepelvicpaincoach.myflodesk.com/painflareplanGet on the waitlist for a Pelvic Pain Strategy Session: https://thepelvicpaincoach.com/strategy-sessionGet on the waitlist for Beyond Chronic Pelvic Pain (doors opening early summer): https://thepelvicpaincoach.com/healing-program Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    1h 4m
  4. Apr 10

    The Validation Trap: A Hidden Block to Healing Chronic Pelvic Pain

    In this episode, I’m talking about something I see all the time with my clients, and something I personally experienced for a long time: The push-pull between validation and empowerment. And how the very thing that once helped you survive… might now be covertly blocking your ability to move forward. In this episode, we talk about: Why the need for validation makes so much sense (especially after medical gaslighting and invisible pain) How self-validation can turn into a loop that keeps you stuck The turning point: wanting to be well more than wanting validation The difference between self-pity and self-compassion (this one is big) What self-compassion actually looks like in real time The grief that comes with realizing no one can fully understand your experience Reflection questions to help you shift out of the validation loop and into healing A question to sit with: Are you validating yourself in a way that helps you feel supported and capable… Or in a way that keeps you stuck, cycling through how hard and unfair this is? If you’re ready for support… This is exactly the work we do inside Beyond Chronic Pelvic Pain. Inside the program, you’ll learn how to:  Understand why your pain is happening Shift out of fear and symptom focus Respond to your body in a new way Stay in process, even when it feels hard Build real momentum in your healingYou don’t have to figure this out alone. 👉 Learn more here: https://thepelvicpaincoach.com/healing-program Doors are currently open, but enrollment is closing at the end of April.  When we reopen at the end of June, it will be at a new price. Healing is possible for you. Rooting for you, always 💜 Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    16 min
  5. Lagging Results: When the Work Is Working (But You Can’t Feel It Yet)

    Apr 2

    Lagging Results: When the Work Is Working (But You Can’t Feel It Yet)

    If you’ve been doing the work: ✅Regulating your nervous system,  ✅Responding to symptoms with safety ✅Practicing self-compassion …but you’re still not feeling better yet, this episode is for you. Because one of the hardest parts of the healing journey isn’t learning what to do.It’s continuing to do it when it feels like nothing is changing. In this episode, we’re talking about lagging results — the experience of doing the work without yet seeing symptomatic change. And more importantly… how to stay in the process without spiraling, doubting yourself, or giving up. Inside this episode, we cover: What “lagging results” actually are (and why they’re normal)Why constantly checking your symptoms can keep you stuckHow urgency and outcome-dependence signal danger to your nervous systemThe real mechanism behind neuroplastic healing (what’s happening beneath the surface)Why healing often feels like “nothing is working” right before things start to shiftThe difference between inputs vs outcomes (and where to focus your energy)How to stay in the work, even when your brain is telling you it’s not working The core message: You are not doing it wrong. The work is working. The results are just lagging. A reframe to take with you: Healing is not like flipping a switch. It’s more like planting a seed. For a while… nothing looks different. But underneath the surface, everything is changing. Reflection questions to support you: Where am I measuring success only by symptoms right now?What inputs am I consistently providing, even if I can’t feel the results yet?What would change if I trusted that my nervous system is rewiring beneath the surface? What would it look like to stay in process without needing proof right now? Want guidance and support? If this episode resonates and you want guidance and support learning how to consistently ground back into what’s actually in your control, so your energy is moving in the direction of healing, Rachel would love to support you inside her coaching program, Beyond Chronic Pelvic Pain. Inside the program, you’ll get a self-paced curriculum grounded in modern pain neuroscience and specifically tailored for healing chronic pelvic pain, along with weekly live group coaching calls where you can ask questions, get clarity, and receive support applying this work to your real symptoms and your real life. You don’t have to do this alone anymore.You deserve to live a life beyond chronic pelvic pain. 👉 Learn more about the program here Rooting for you, always 💜 Rachel Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

    17 min
5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

The Heal Your Chronic Pelvic Pain Podcast helps you heal chronic pelvic pain through a proven mind-body approach. Hosted by Rachel Gofman, DPT – a pelvic pain coach and physical therapist who overcame years of her own pain — each episode gives you science-based tools and compassionate guidance to partner with your nervous system to heal symptoms and reclaim your life.

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