Alan Gordon: Creator of Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)

Last updated August 23, 2026 · 9 min read

By Tauri Urbanik, research writer and PainApp founder

Who is Alan Gordon?

Alan Gordon's story starts where a lot of chronic pain stories start: in a doctor's office, getting nowhere.

Gordon has publicly described developing persistent symptoms during graduate school and later improving after engaging with mind-body approaches. This personal history helps explain his interest in the field, but it is not clinical evidence.

Then he discovered Dr. John Sarno's work. The idea that his brain was generating these symptoms as a response to emotional distress resonated deeply. And it led to his recovery. All 22 symptoms resolved without medical intervention.

Gordon is a licensed clinical social worker and founder of the Pain Psychology Center in Los Angeles. He developed Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) and was a coauthor on the randomized trial that tested the protocol.

Gordon helped translate ideas about learned pain into a manualized psychological treatment that could be studied. The PRT trial supports that protocol in selected adults with primary chronic back pain; it does not validate Sarno's entire theory.

Alan Gordon's approach to pain recovery

Pain Reprocessing Therapy is built on a specific neuroscience model: the fear-pain cycle. Gordon argues that chronic pain becomes a learned pattern in the brain. The brain interprets normal body sensations as dangerous and generates pain in response. That pain creates fear. Fear amplifies the danger signal. Pain intensifies. The cycle feeds itself.

PRT breaks this cycle through three core techniques:

Somatic tracking. When you feel pain, observe the sensation with curiosity rather than fear. Notice where it is, what it feels like, how it shifts moment to moment. While observing, remind yourself that this is a false alarm from your brain, not a signal from damaged tissue. Over time, this retrains your brain's interpretation of body signals from threatening to safe.

Safety reappraisal. After appropriate assessment, examine evidence that a movement or sensation may be safe. Symptom variability, imaging, and stress effects can inform this process but do not diagnose pain or rule out tissue and nerve contributors.

Corrective experiences. Engage in activities your brain has labeled as dangerous. Touch, move, sit, bend, exercise. When the catastrophic outcome your brain predicted doesn't happen, the brain updates its model. Each corrective experience weakens the pain pattern.

What makes PRT distinct from Sarno's approach is the emphasis on fear rather than repressed rage. Gordon doesn't ask patients to excavate childhood trauma or identify unconscious anger. He focuses on the real-time fear-pain cycle and how to interrupt it. This makes PRT more accessible to people who don't connect with the psychoanalytic framework.

Key contributions to neuroplastic pain

Gordon's defining achievement is the Boulder Back Pain Study. Published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2022, it was the first rigorous randomized controlled trial of a brain-based approach to chronic pain (Ashar et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2022↗).

The numbers were striking. 151 chronic back pain patients randomized into three groups: PRT, placebo injection, and usual care. After four weeks:

• 33 of 50 participants assigned to PRT were pain-free or nearly pain-free
• 20% of the placebo group improved
• 10% of the usual care group improved

Results held at one-year follow-up. And the study included fMRI brain imaging showing actual changes in how participants' brains processed pain signals. The pain didn't just feel different. Their brains had physically changed.

The study provided important randomized evidence for PRT. It was one trial in a selected population, used an open-label saline comparison, and involved treatment developers. Those features should be considered alongside the strong observed effect.

Gordon also popularized the term "neuroplastic pain," helping bridge the gap between Sarno's TMS language and mainstream neuroscience. And his podcast "Tell Me About Your Pain" demonstrates PRT in real time with actual patients, making the approach tangible for listeners in a way that books alone can't achieve.

How to access Alan Gordon's work

Gordon's work is accessible at multiple price points:

Free resources. The "Tell Me About Your Pain" podcast is available on all podcast platforms. Episodes demonstrate PRT techniques with real patients and are an excellent way to understand the approach before committing to anything. Gordon has also given numerous talks and interviews available on YouTube.

The Way Out (book). Published in 2021 by Avery/Penguin, The Way Out explains the fear-pain cycle and somatic tracking. The book itself has not been tested as a replacement for therapist-led PRT.

Pain Psychology Center. The center lists a clinical team and remote-care options. Confirm current availability, cost, therapist credentials, and whether the clinician may legally provide care where you are physically located.

Training for therapists. Gordon also offers training programs for mental health professionals who want to learn PRT. This has expanded the reach of the approach beyond his own practice.

Structured daily practice options

Gordon's work through the Pain Psychology Center and his book has helped thousands of people recover. For those who want a structured daily practice built on the same neuroscience principles Gordon validated, several options complement his approach.

Unlearn Your Pain by Howard Schubiner offers a 28-day structured workbook that pairs well with PRT concepts. Schubiner's free Coursera course "Reign of Pain" covers related material at no cost.

Dan Buglio's daily YouTube videos on the Pain Free You channel provide free daily support using concepts that align with Gordon's fear-to-safety framework.

PainApp is commercially related to this site and offers education, tracking, audio exercises, and an AI-based coach. It is not a therapist, cannot diagnose pain, and has not been tested as equivalent to the therapist-led PRT protocol.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Alan Gordon?

Alan Gordon is an LCSW, founder of the Pain Psychology Center, developer of Pain Reprocessing Therapy, author of The Way Out, and coauthor of the Boulder PRT trial. In that trial, 33 of 50 selected participants assigned to PRT for primary chronic back pain were pain-free or nearly pain-free after treatment.

What is Pain Reprocessing Therapy?

Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) is a brain-based treatment for chronic pain that uses somatic tracking, safety reappraisal, and corrective experiences to break the fear-pain cycle. A 2022 JAMA Psychiatry trial showed 33 of 50 PRT participants were pain-free or nearly pain-free after 4 weeks.

How much does Alan Gordon's Pain Psychology Center cost?

Fees, availability, therapist assignment, insurance, and telehealth eligibility can change. Request current information directly from the center and verify that the assigned clinician is licensed to treat you where you are located.

What is the Tell Me About Your Pain podcast?

Tell Me About Your Pain is a podcast co-hosted by Alan Gordon where he works with real chronic pain patients live. Episodes demonstrate PRT techniques in real time, making the approach tangible and accessible. It's available free on all podcast platforms.

References

1. Ashar YK, et al. Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2022;79(1):13-23.DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.2669
2. Woolf CJ. Central sensitization: implications for the diagnosis and treatment of pain. PAIN. 2011;152(3 Suppl):S2-S15.DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2010.09.030
3. Brinjikji W, et al. Systematic Literature Review of Imaging Features of Spinal Degeneration in Asymptomatic Populations. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015;36(4):811-816.DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A4173
4. Ashar YK, et al. Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: 5-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2025.DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.1844