Helping Pediatric Patients Learn How to Reduce Chronic Pain and Stress

As part of its ongoing work to make more comprehensive care services available for referring providers, Seattle Children’s is expanding patient access for the Eastside for its Biofeedback Program, helping children and adolescents learn how to voluntarily control their body’s response to stress and pain to improve their health and well-being.  

Last month Seattle Children’s added weekly access (Tuesdays) for biofeedback services at its Bellevue Clinic, in addition to the existing programs in its Everett, Federal Way and Seattle locations.  

What is Biofeedback and How Can It Help Patients?

Even with the best medical care and counseling, the unfortunate reality is that many young patients must still endure pain and stress from their conditions in their daily lives. But that doesn’t mean they have to give up and accept it – there are proven steps they can take to help themselves feel better.  

That’s where Seattle Children’s Biofeedback Program comes in. Using breathing exercises, guided imagery and other techniques, patients can regulate their muscle tension, heart rate, skin temperature and other body functions to decrease chronic pain and manage their body’s response.  

The Biofeedback Program at Seattle Children’s is typically six sessions long, with each session lasting one hour. Sometimes patients’ conditions can improve significantly in as little as a week, and most patients achieve their maximum improvement in symptoms after about three to six months of regular practice.  

Improving Access to Help More Patients

In addition to expanding access for the Eastside, the Biofeedback team has also taken steps to improve access by streamlining the intake process for new patients. As a result the team can help additional children and teens, now more than 300 each year.  

Seattle Children’s Biofeedback team is accepting referrals through its Adolescent Medicine Program for the following conditions: 

• Headache/migraine 
• Abdominal pain 
• Raynaud’s syndrome 
• Hypertension 

To be approved for the program, patients must have undergone an evaluation by a related specialist within the past year (for headaches, an MRI is sufficient). Note: PCP referrals accompanied by appropriate evaluation documentation are accepted. 

Please fax a completed New Appointment Request Form (PDF or DOC) to 206-985-3121 with “Attn: Clinical Intake” or submit a referral via EpicCare Link, and be sure to reference Biofeedback on the form. To learn more about the referral process, please visit the Biofeedback Refer a Patient page.