The Comfort Ability® Program helps kids, teens, and parents or caregivers learn how to better manage recurring functional symptoms such as chronic pain (nerve, muscle or joint pain, headaches, abdominal pain, etc.), nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and muscle weakness.
The Comfort Ability® Program offers:
- interactive workshops for kids and teens and their parents or caregivers
- free online health chats for teens and parents or caregivers
- a quarterly newsletter with up-to-date pediatric pain and functional symptom resources
- a family centered website with essential symptom management information for kids, teens, parents and caregivers: www.thecomfortability.com
What are the Comfort Ability® Program workshops?
The Comfort Ability® Program workshops are a clinical intervention developed by Dr. Rachael Coakley at Boston Children's Hospital. The workshops teach proven coping skills based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In the workshop, kids and teens and their parents or caregivers learn important strategies to better manage pain symptoms and functional symptoms (like dizziness, nausea, fatigue, etc.) and get back to their full lives.
Workshops are for kids and teens ages 10-17 and up to two parents or caregivers. Currently, workshops are offered throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia, and may be offered either in-person or virtually.
Visit our workshops page for more information about the workshops, including information for how to register for a workshop at Boston Children’s Hospital.
What are the Comfort Ability® Program online health chats?
Every month, the Comfort Ability® Program runs free online chats for either kids or parents. All health chats are moderated by a pediatric psychologist and include a peer or parent mentor. These chats are a great way to get support, ask questions, and continue learning about pain and other functional symptoms management. You do not have to be a patient at Boston Children’s Hospital to join a health chat; our chats are open to the community. Visit our Comfort Ability® online chat page to find out when the next chats are happening and more.
What is the Comfort Ability® Program newsletter?
The Comfort Ability® Program is on a mission to connect families with helpful science-backed resources of all kinds. In our quarterly newsletter, we share information about new apps, websites, books, and programs that can help to support kids with pain and other functional symptoms. Visit our newsletter page to sign up and stay connected.
What other interventions do you have?
There is a separate Comfort Ability® Program workshop/intervention just for kids and teens with sickle cell disease pain. Visit this page to learn more about the Comfort Ability® Program for Sickle Cell Pain or email thecomfortability@childrens.harvard.edu.
