Provided by: The Ottawa Hospital (public)

Summary: A rehabilitation-focused service for adults whose pain comes with mobility or function problems. Access begins with a physiatrist, a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, who assesses the person and directs them to the disciplines most likely to help.  

• Treatment is arranged individually rather than as a fixed group course, and is time-limited, with the emphasis on restoring movement, strength and independence in everyday activities.  
• Outreach staff connect people with community organizations and services so that progress continues once hospital-based treatment ends.  
• This service often suits people whose pain is tied to an injury, a surgery, or a physical condition affecting how they move.

Notes: Publicly funded. Physiatrist referral required.

Provided by: Providence Care (public)

Summary: An outpatient clinic at Providence Care Hospital in Kingston for adults with spinal or limb pain, including low back pain, neck pain, and pain in muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and bones.  

• A physiatrist leads the assessment, identifying the source of the problem and setting the treatment direction, after which rehabilitation staff such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and social work work with the person on movement, function and coping.  
• Both recent and long-standing musculoskeletal pain are accepted, and the clinic generally works through conservative, non-surgical options first.  
• It sits within a broader set of outpatient clinics at Providence Care, so a person can be redirected to another clinic if that turns out to be the better fit.

Notes: Publicly funded. Focused on MSK / spine pain. Referral required. 

Provided by:  Northumberland Family Health Team (public) 

Summary: A team-based program for people in Northumberland County living with persistent pain. It starts with a one-hour appointment where a physiotherapist, pharmacist and social worker listen to the person's experience of pain and build a plan with them.

• The program aims to provide patients with a toolbox of strategies so that pain is no longer in the driver's seat. Depending on what someone needs, this can include self-management education, physiotherapy, a medication review, and counselling, alongside an ongoing education and support group.  
• Session topics cover why pain persists, movement and mindfulness, sleep, and nutrition. 

Notes: Publicly funded, free. Open to Northumberland FHT patients. No doctor's referral is needed: people can contact the Family Health Team office directly to book a Pain Support Program orientation.   

Provided by: Arthritis Society Canada (public)

Summary: A province-wide, community-based program for adults and children with a confirmed arthritis diagnosis.  

• Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers with specific arthritis training assess each person and build a customized care plan, covering joint protection, pacing, mobility, assistive devices, emotional wellbeing, and managing work and daily life with arthritis.  
• Services are free to people with a valid Ontario health card and are funded by Ontario Health.  
• Care is delivered in person or virtually, by phone, video or email, and service is available in French.  
• The program also runs virtual group education workshops on topics such as osteoarthritis and hand osteoarthritis (see above self-management programs)

Notes: Publicly funded. Arthritis diagnosis required. Both self-referral and physician referral are accepted, through an online form or by phone.

Provided by: Kingston Community Health Centres

Summary: Kingston Community Health Centres runs the Regional Self-Management Program for residents of South East Ontario, offering free workshops for people living with chronic conditions, chronic pain, diabetes and cancer, and for caregivers. The chronic pain workshop meets once a week for two and a half hours over six weeks and is led by two trained peer leaders who live with chronic pain themselves.  

• It is built for a wide range of conditions, including musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, repetitive strain injury, complex regional pain syndrome, neuropathic pain, and post-stroke or central pain.  
• Participants receive the Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Pain book and a relaxation audio resource, and family members and caregivers may attend.  
• For people who cannot commit to six weeks, the program also runs Empowered Relief, a single two-and-a-half-hour session teaching pain-relief skills drawn from cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness.

Notes: Open to South East Ontario residents. No doctor's referral is needed. Delivered online, free of charge. To register or learn more about the program, please click on the link below.

Provided by:  Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre — Trenton & Belleville

Summary: Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre runs information sessions, skills-based groups and peer-support groups for people living with chronic pain, diabetes and other long-term conditions.  

• Group programs are free and open to anyone in the community or more broadly, to all Ontario residents, not only to registered clients of the health centre.  
• The centre is licensed to deliver the Chronic Pain Self-Management Program, the same evidence-based workshop used elsewhere in the region, and has also run a monthly chronic pain and conditions support group for people living with pain and for their caregivers.  
• The program is offered primarily in person and consists of a six-week series that runs once per month, typically on a Tuesday. The programs are hosted at either the Belleville or Trenton location, with occasional virtual offerings. Please refer to the center’s events calendar for current schedule and registration details.

Notes: The program serves residents of Trenton and Belleville area. No referral needed. Please check the calendar on their website for current sessions. Sessions are mostly in person and at times, online. For more information, please click on the link below or contact 613-965-0698 (Trenton) or 613-962-0000 (Belleville). 

Provided by: Peterborough Family Health Team

Summary: A ten-week program that meets for two hours each week, facilitated by a pharmacist together with mental health clinicians. It is aimed at people whose pain is affecting their quality of life and who feel they have exhausted the options for relieving it.  

• Sessions explain the mechanisms underlying chronic pain conditions, then work through the links between pain, mood and everyday function, so that participants understand why pain persists and what can still be influenced.  
• Cohorts run either fully virtually or fully in person rather than mixing the two. Places are filled from a waitlist, so the next start date depends on when a cohort comes together.

Notes: Serves Peterborough residents. Waitlist-based. Open to community members: no referral needed, register through the website. Delivered fully virtually or fully in person, depending on the cohort. Phone: 705-740-8020 

Provided by: Arthritis Society Canada

Summary: Alongside its one-to-one rehabilitation services, the Arthritis Rehabilitation & Education Program (AREP) runs free group workshops led by an Arthritis Society Canada occupational therapist or physiotherapist.  

• Each session runs about ninety minutes, is delivered virtually, and focuses on a single topic, so people can pick the ones relevant to them rather than committing to a fixed series.  
• Topics include osteoarthritis, hand osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, sleep, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioural strategies.  
• Workshops combine up-to-date information on managing the condition with practical self-management strategies, and include time to interact with others living with the same diagnosis.  

Notes: Open to all Ontario residents. Delivered virtually. No provider referral needed, however, some streams require an arthritis diagnosis. Pre-registration is required by phone. Participants need a valid Ontario health card and must be in Ontario at the time of the session.  Phone: 1-800-321-1433 ext 3307