Upcoming Sage Groups & Courses
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FALL 2025: People Pleasing & Pain
COMING THIS FALL!
Taught by Lara Birk, Ph.D. Capped at 8 people.
Calling All Recovering People Pleasers, Perfectionists, Harsh Self-Critics, & Boundary-Challenged Folks!
We will focus on what the mindbody field often calls personality “traits” associated with chronic symptoms. Lara prefers to call these ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES developed in one’s early life to cope with one’s interpersonal, social, and cultural environment, but which tend to be MAL-ADAPTIVE in adulthood. Find strategies that better suit who and where you are in our lives today.
Details Coming Soon.
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FALL 2025: Mindbody Strategies with Lara Birk, PhD & Malissa Durbin, LMHC
10 Tuesdays 1-2:30pm ET
September 16 - November 18, 2025
This class will be a co-taught class (via Zoom) by Lara Birk, PhD, and Malissa Durbin, LMHC, a therapist with both personal and professional experience in neuroplastic symptom recovery.
Details to Follow.
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2 SPOTS LEFT: SUMMER 2025: Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset
8 Wednesdays 11am - 12pm ET
June 25 - August 13, 2025
Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset
Taught by Lara Birk, Ph.D. Capped at 8 people.
Read Course Description Below.
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SPRING 2025: Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset
8 Mondays April 7 - June 2, 2025 (skipping 5/26 Memorial Day) 2-3pm ET
Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset
Taught by Lara Birk, Ph.D. Capped at 8 people.
Read Course Description Below.
SOLD OUT.
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WINTER 2025: Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset
8 Tuesdays February 4 - March 25, 2025 1-2pm ET
Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset
Taught by Lara Birk, Ph.D. Capped at 8 people.
Read Course Description Below.
SOLD OUT.
Developing a S.A.G.E. Mindset: Understanding & Learning to Calm Pain
Course Description:
The course is designed for individuals living with pain or other chronic symptoms, including those with a combination of both structural and neuroplastic pain/symptoms. In truth, the "S.A.G.E." methods we cover are also deeply applicable to anxiety & mental anguish, in addition to physical symptoms.
You will get 8 weekly one-hour live group sessions on Zoom, short video lessons, links to educational resources, frequent reflection prompts & “food for thought,” as well as suggested practices to help you integrate what you learn into your own day to day life. Moreover, you can rest assured you will find understanding, camaraderie, and support among your fellow participants (including your instructor), who will just "get" it because they too have lived it.
Group coaching is not only more cost-effective than 1-1 coaching, but it also provides unique opportunities for learning and growth from the perspectives and experiences of each of your fellow participants. To enable ample sharing, rich discussions, and actual practice, the course will be capped at 8 participants.
In pain reprocessing therapy, learning is therapeutic. And Lara believes that learning together is not only therapeutic, but can also be - according to previous participants - "fun," "supportive," "inspiring," "bonding," and "transformative. " Groups, especially when well-run, are a powerful catalyst for healing and transformation.
Cost:
The Early Bird price of $500 while the Regular price is $600. Payments accepted via Venmo or Zelle (PayPal if you are outside of the US).
Course Reviews:
* "I learned so much about myself and really looked forward to each week because our discussions were so engaging and felt so healing."
* “The group has been a safe space to share insights with other people on a similar path as me. It made me feel stronger, and much less lonely.”
* “This [experience] turned out to be both deep and fun - I did not expect that! We bonded over our shared pain but we also laughed a lot together, which was very cathartic.”
More client testimonials & reviews.
To Register:
If you would like to request a spot, please EMAIL LARA below and share a few sentences about your current struggle, whether or not you believe you have 'structural' issues in addition to neuroplastic, and your familiarity with the concept of neuroplastic symptoms. In previous groups, those who have benefitted the most are those who come ready to actively engage and put in real effort.
Safety
You know how chemistry teachers always say, “Safety First!”? It is true here, as well. To start, you will learn the tools you need to reliably establish a sense of internal safety, soothe your nervous system, start to turn toxic self-talk into compassion, and nurture feelings of security & self acceptance. These foundational skills help you create an embodied experience of safety that equip you to proceed to more advanced mindbody symptom-calming techniques.
Agency
How often has pain & other chronic symptoms made you feel out of control, like they’re calling all the shots in your life, affecting your relationships, your career, your dreams for the future, and even your self esteem? Here, you will learn tools for regaining a sense of control, mastery, and confidence in your mind & body through safe, incremental expansions of your comfort zone. As you accumulate little victories, you will begin to notice a shift in how you feel about yourself and how you relate to the world.
Gratitude
After years enduring the cruelties of chronic suffering, you may wonder why “gratitude”?! But by this phase, you will have learned tools that fundamentally change the way you relate to your mind & body and the signals you receive from both. From a platform of safety & agency, you can begin to ask of any situation, including what is happening in your own body, mind, and life: “what is the gift here?” Just posing the question triggers an empowering paradigm shift that will help you make changes you need to foster your own healing.
Engagement
Equipped with these new tools, you can now solidify the positive changes you have made through engagement with people & pursuits that bring a sense of joy, purpose, and meaning to your life. Finding others with whom you can you share ongoing support & feedback can be especially helpful going forward. The most empowering feature of SAGE is that once you learn it, it is always there for you when you need it, and better still, like a muscle, it makes you stronger and more powerful the more you practice.
Mailing List for Upcoming Sage Groups & Classes
Dr. Birk’s Background
Education:
Ph.D. Boston College, Sociology (Areas: Medical Sociology & Sociology of Education)
M.A. Tufts University, Educational Studies (Areas: Race, Class, Gender & Disability)
B.A. Amherst College, Sociology (Phi Beta Kappa; Magna cum Laude)
Additional Trainings:
Advanced Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) Certifications, Health & Wellness Coaching Certification specializing in pain coaching), as well as trainings with Lorimer Moseley, Curable Health, Richard Schwartz, Jon Kabat-Zinn, among others.
Experience:
Over a decade as a professor of sociology (specializing in medical sociology), scholar, and author on the social experience of those with pain; five years as a pain reprocessing (PRT) and mindbody coach helping clients develop agency, self-trust, and skills for calming nervous system activation & related symptoms.
Reviews
Course Reviews:
"I learned so much about myself and really looked forward to each week because our discussions were so engaging and felt healing."
“Lara is the best teacher around. Hands down. She offered me the tools and with them, I transformed my life.”
“The group has been a safe space to share insights with other people on a similar path as me. It made me feel stronger, and much less lonely.”
“This [experience] turned out to be both deep and fun - I did not expect the fun part! We bonded over our shared pain but we also laughed a lot together, which was very cathartic.”
More client testimonials & reviews from former students are available.
