‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ (a quote often attributed to Gandhi) has always struck a chord.  Sometimes, words alone cannot convince others of the value of behaviour change, but we can model this by showing up in the world the way we would like to be. 

Sometimes, it’s the realisation that WE are the ones who are able to free ourselves from difficult systems and the most effective ingredient to create change.  We appreciate our very fortunate position of being able to leave difficult systems and set out to provide something exactly the way we wanted to provide it, without the institutional shackles of other organisations.

As I’m sure for many of us, (current news stories notwithstanding!), in both December 2020 and 2021, it did not feel sensible to have a work Christmas get together.  Yes, disappointing, but what came of that was a wonderful opportunity…we started to talk about using the money set aside for celebrating our business to help a worthy cause, at a time when we feel so privileged to be happy and healthy. 

Andy knew of a charity local to us in West Yorkshire, Simon on the Streets, who support individuals experiencing homelessness.  We are proud to say we are now part of their ‘5 in 5’ programme, offering our support over at least the next 5 years.

We have both worked in the NHS for large portions of our careers and as Directors of Retraining Pain, we want to ‘be the change we want to see’.  When you are in a huge system like the NHS, on good days it feels like being part of a huge family with a common goal.  It feels (felt) good.  When we first set up Retraining Pain, we considered a Social Enterprise model, but this felt too difficult at our inception when we did not have a fully formed idea of what our service would offer. Instead, we vowed to be a socially conscious company, and charitable donations are a part of that.

Being socially responsible is also about treating the people you work with well

We have both had experience of working for agencies where profit comes first, and the financial gain for work, the sense of value you offer that organisation, or the sense of community at work we can long for, might all feel difficult to come by.  At Retraining Pain, we treat our associates like we would want to be treated.  We offer a competitive rate of pay, and we only want to work with people who share the same passion, enthusiasm and expertise for working with people with persistent pain as we have, so you can have faith in our nationwide network of professionals.  We want to help people who work with us progress, learn, and feel like the valued colleagues they are.

We have many happy case managers and solicitors who refer their clients to us, feel free to get in touch if you’d like to join them!

Or, if you are a physiotherapist, occupational therapist or psychologist with a special interest in persistent pain, and you are interested in joining our expanding nationwide network, say hello at info@retrainingpain.co.uk.