Therapy for Fibromyalgia: Online Counselling Across Canada

Fibromyalgia is exhausting in every sense — the widespread pain, the fatigue, the brain fog, and the emotional weight of living with a condition that many people still do not understand. If you have been told to just exercise more or that it is stress, you deserve better than that. Therapy can be a meaningful part of your fibromyalgia care — not as a replacement for medical treatment, but as a way to address the pain, the nervous system dysregulation, and the emotional toll that fibromyalgia creates.

I am Elysia Bronson, a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) who works exclusively with chronic pain and chronic illness. I am certified in Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) — an evidence-based approach specifically designed for chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia — and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) for nervous system regulation.

Therapy for Fibromyalgia

  • Fibromyalgia involves more than pain signals — it involves a nervous system that has become sensitized, amplifying pain, fatigue, and sensory input. Research increasingly shows that chronic primary pain conditions like fibromyalgia involve learned neural pathways in the brain, and that these pathways can be retrained. Therapy for fibromyalgia works on several levels: calming the nervous system, processing the emotional impact of living with pain, retraining the brain's relationship with pain signals, and building practical strategies for living well within your limits.

    This is not the kind of therapy that asks you to think positive or push through. I use a pacing-first approach that respects your energy envelope and never asks you to do more than your body can handle in a session.

  • Pain Reprocessing

    Using Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), we work directly with your experience of pain — helping your brain learn to interpret pain signals as safe rather than dangerous. A landmark 2021 study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that PRT eliminated or significantly reduced chronic pain in the majority of participants, with results lasting at one-year follow-up.

    Nervous System Regulation

    Fibromyalgia often involves autonomic nervous system dysfunction — your body stays in a state of heightened alert. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) uses specially filtered music to stimulate the vagus nerve and shift the nervous system toward a calmer baseline. This can reduce pain sensitivity, improve sleep, and ease sensory overload.

    Flare Management and Pacing

    We develop personalized pacing strategies so you can manage your energy and reduce the boom-bust cycle that makes fibromyalgia worse. This includes identifying triggers, recognizing early warning signs, and building a sustainable daily rhythm.

    Grief and Identity

    Fibromyalgia often takes away the life you planned. We work through the grief of lost abilities, changed relationships, and shifted identity — without rushing you or minimizing what you have lost.

    Medical Trauma

    Many people with fibromyalgia have spent years being dismissed, doubted, or misdiagnosed. If your experiences with the healthcare system have left you feeling mistrustful or traumatized, we address that directly.

  • Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) — evidence-based approach for retraining the brain's pain response. Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) — Polyvagal-informed listening therapy for nervous system calming. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) — adapted for chronic pain, focused on coping and quality of life. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) — distress tolerance and emotional regulation for pain flares. Somatic pacing — body-based techniques that respect your energy and pain limits.

    I never use approaches that dismiss your pain as just psychological or push you beyond what your body can handle.

Why Online Therapy Works for Fibromyalgia

When you are in a flare, the last thing you need is a commute. Online therapy means you can attend from wherever you are most comfortable — your couch, your bed, wherever the pain is most manageable. You control the lighting, temperature, and positioning. If you need to shift, stretch, or adjust during a session, you do. There is no energy spent getting to an office.

Who I Work With

I see clients across British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. I am registered with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC). I currently cannot see clients from Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or PEI due to provincial registration requirements.

About Me

I am Elysia Bronson, RCC. I serve on the Board of the Canadian Pain Society and co-chair the Interprofessional Special Interest Group. I am certified in Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP). Chronic pain and chronic illness therapy is my sole clinical focus — not a sideline. I also live with chronic illness myself. I understand what it means to pace your day, to cancel plans, and to grieve the life you expected to have.

Session Details

Individual counselling: $150 CAD per 50-minute session. SSP-integrated session: $180 CAD per 50-minute session. Free 20-minute consultation: No cost, no pressure. Insurance: Most extended health plans cover RCC services. ICBC and WorkSafe BC accepted. Sessions: Monday through Friday, online via secure video.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a referral?

No referral is needed. You can book directly.

Can PRT really help with fibromyalgia pain?

Research supports PRT for chronic primary pain conditions. A 2021 randomized controlled trial published in JAMA Psychiatry showed significant pain reduction in participants with chronic pain using PRT, and the principles apply to fibromyalgia as a central sensitization condition.

Will you tell me my pain is all in my head?

Never. Your pain is real. PRT does not claim pain is imaginary — it works with the neuroscience showing that the brain can learn to amplify pain signals, and that it can also learn to turn them down.

Is fibromyalgia therapy covered by insurance in Canada?

Most extended health insurance plans cover Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC). ICBC and WorkSafe BC claims are also accepted. Check with your insurance provider for your specific coverage.

Take the First Step

If you are living with fibromyalgia and want support from a therapist who specializes in chronic pain — and who genuinely understands what it is like — I would love to connect. Book a free 20-minute consultation. No referral needed. No pressure. Just a conversation about whether this is the right fit.

Contact: elysiabronson@thewoodscounselling.com | +1 (604) 302-2193