Psychologist for chronic pain, migraine and headache

Who I work with

Chronic pain is the center of my practice, from long-lasting neck and low back pain to widespread pain such as fibromyalgia, and I also work with migraine and chronic headache and other stress-related physical symptoms. I work with high-achieving professionals who are used to solving hard problems, until their bodies stop cooperating. You may have read the books, tried the treatments and come to understand that stress affects the body, and yet the symptoms persist. You may be looking for someone who can help you understand how stress, emotion and a nervous system stuck on alert can keep symptoms going, and what helps that system settle.

If your scans and tests have come back normal, your pain is just as real. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience," and its guidance says that a person's own report of pain should be respected.

How I work

My approach brings together three methods, with Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET) in the lead. EAET helps you notice, feel and express emotions you may have learned to push aside, such as anger, grief and the longing for closeness, and practice saying what you need to the people who matter to you. The idea behind EAET is that emotions you have held back can keep the nervous system on alert and help keep pain going, and the therapy works to ease that sense of threat.

EAET has been tested head to head against cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a widely used psychological treatment for pain. In a 2024 randomized trial in JAMA Network Open by Yarns and colleagues, 126 older veterans who had lived with chronic pain for an average of 23 years received one therapy or the other. Pain fell more with EAET, and the advantage was still there six months later. By the trial's estimates, nearly two in three of the veterans who received EAET had their pain drop by at least 30% after treatment, compared with fewer than one in five of those who received CBT.

I also use Pain Reprocessing Therapy, which pairs education about how the brain and nervous system produce pain with guided practice in reappraising pain sensations, so that they become less frightening. I completed the Pain Reprocessing Therapy Center's Foundational (Level I) training.

Alongside both, I draw on attachment-oriented psychodynamic therapy informed by ISTDP (intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy). This part of the work looks at long-standing patterns in how you relate to other people and to yourself, such as harsh self-criticism or a habit of putting performance ahead of your own needs. Our sessions become a place where it is safe to be uncertain, unproductive and human.

Migraine care alongside your physician

For migraine, I work alongside the physician or neurologist who manages your medical treatment. Psychological treatment has a recognized place in migraine care. The American Headache Society's 2021 consensus statement describes behavioral treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback and relaxation training as effective ways to prevent migraine, and it notes that combining them with medication may work better than either alone. My own work, led by EAET, focuses on what you can influence between attacks, such as stress and the feelings and pressures that build up around headaches.

Training and credentials

• I am a licensed psychologist in Washington (license PY61353978), with a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology.
• I trained in EAET with its co-developers, Mark Lumley and Howard Schubiner, and in ISTDP with Allan Abbass and Joel Town.
• I am Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
• I am the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and coauthor of two books on deliberate practice for therapists, both published by the American Psychological Association.

Online across Washington, and in Lynnwood on Fridays

I see adults by secure video anywhere in Washington, from Seattle to Spokane, so you can do this work from home or a private office without adding a commute to your week. On Fridays I also see clients in person at my Lynnwood office, 5108 196th St SW, Suite 103, Lynnwood, WA 98036.

Fees

Jin Psychological Services, PLLC, is a private-pay practice and does not bill insurance, and it provides superbills for clients who seek out-of-network reimbursement. The discovery call is free and takes 15 minutes. An initial consultation is $325 for 60 minutes, and ongoing sessions are $265 for 60 minutes. Payment is due at the time of service, by credit card through a secure client portal, and the services and fees page has every option.

Book a free discovery call

A free discovery call is a chance to talk about what you're dealing with and how I work, with no obligation.

Book a free discovery call

For colleagues and students

My research looks at how stressful life events and race-based discrimination relate to centralized pain symptoms among Black, Latine and Asian American adults with chronic pain, including the role of anger and perceived injustice. I train therapists through deliberate practice, the method behind both of my books, and you can find my courses and workshops under teaching and training. Referring clinicians can book a single 75-minute expert case consultation ($425) for a second opinion or case review.

References

Ailani, J., Burch, R. C., Robbins, M. S., & Board of Directors of the American Headache Society. (2021). The American Headache Society Consensus Statement: Update on integrating new migraine treatments into clinical practice. Headache, 61(7), 1021–1039. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.14153

International Association for the Study of Pain. (n.d.). Terminology. Retrieved October 31, 2026, from https://www.iasp-pain.org/resources/terminology/

Raja, S. N., Carr, D. B., Cohen, M., Finnerup, N. B., Flor, H., Gibson, S., Keefe, F. J., Mogil, J. S., Ringkamp, M., Sluka, K. A., Song, X.-J., Stevens, B., Sullivan, M. D., Tutelman, P. R., Ushida, T., & Vader, K. (2020). The revised International Association for the Study of Pain definition of pain: Concepts, challenges, and compromises. Pain, 161(9), 1976–1982. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001939

Yarns, B. C., Jackson, N. J., Alas, A., Melrose, R. J., Lumley, M. A., & Sultzer, D. L. (2024). Emotional awareness and expression therapy vs cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain in older veterans: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(6), e2415842. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15842