A Pathway Forward:
Tools for navigating pain in the outdoors.
Tuesday, 13 October 2026 at 7:30 pm
Add this event to your calendar: Google Calendar, ICS
Details:
Pain can shape far more than how our bodies feel. For many of us living with a neurological or chronic health condition, it also affects our thoughts, our mood, and the choices we make each day: whether we head out for a walk, say yes to plans with friends, or keep chasing the adventures that matter to us. Over time, it's easy to fall into patterns of thinking that make pain feel bigger, and harder to live alongside.
The good news is that the way we think about pain is something we can learn to work with. In April, Dr John Alchin and Simon Goss gave us a big-picture overview of chronic pain and why psychological input matters. In this follow-up session, Julie Zarifeh, a Clinical Psychologist, takes us a step further into the practical, evidence-based tools that can help.
Drawing on her clinical work and her own life experiences, Julie will explore how our thinking styles influence our experience of pain, and introduce cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches you can use day to day. She'll also share what she's found from staying active in the outdoors, and how time in nature can become part of managing her own grief (psychological pain) rather than something pain takes away.
What you will learn:
During this engaging seminar, you will learn about:
A brief introduction to CBT approaches to pain, and how they can help break the cycle of pain, avoidance, and inactivity
Common unhelpful thinking styles, such as catastrophising and all-or-nothing thinking, and how to recognise them when they show up
Cognitive restructuring: a practical, step-by-step way to challenge and reframe pain-related thoughts
During the presentation, we will have space for questions.
Your presenter:
Julie Zarifeh is a NZ-trained, qualified and registered Consultant Clinical Psychologist.
Julie has experience developing individualised management plans for people adjusting to both acute and chronic physical health diagnoses across many medical specialities.
She has also been a Research Fellow for the University of Otago, on clinical trials investigating non-cardiac chest pain, broken heart syndrome, and more recently , the psychological ramifications of the March 15 Christchurch terror attack on our local Muslim community.
Julie’s professional life took a change in direction in 2017 when she suffered significant loss in her own life, the deaths of her husband and then eldest son, 2 weeks apart. Her clinical interest is now also and in the areas of loss, grief, resilience and adaptation to adversity, through education, inspiration and exploring with clients the numerous strategies within the field of Positive Psychology.
She authored a book, ‘Grief on the Run,’ published March 2021- exploring the application of the NZ Mental Health Foundation’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing Model to significant adversity.
In her downtime Julie is a passionate tramper and cold water ‘dipper,’ proud new (young) grandmother, and dog + beach walker/lover.