Our Team⼁Australis Specialist Pain Clinic⼁Pain Management Services⼁Rehabilitation

About Us

About Us

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Our team are all specialists in the management of
chronic pain and complex rehabilitation

Our Practice

Australis Specialist Pain Clinic was set up in response to the need for a community-based Specialist pain management clinic in Canterbury and the South Island. All of our clinicians are experienced in pain medicine and rehabilitation, and share the common belief that understanding pain in the broader context of the patient’s life is the key to successful treatment. We are forever trying to improve what we do, with a focus on getting the best outcomes for our patients.

Our Specialty

A Specialist Pain Medicine Physician is medical specialist who, following their first specialty, has completed an additional 2 years of training under the Faculty of Pain Medicine. Backgrounds can include anaesthetists, physicians, psychiatrists, gynaecologists and surgeons. Specialist Pain Medicine Physicians are trained in interdisciplinary pain management.

The spectrum of care provided by a pain specialist includes prescribing medication, co-ordinating rehabilitative services, performing pain relieving procedures, counselling patients and families, directing a multidisciplinary team, co-operating with other healthcare professionals and liaising with public and private agencies.

A Pain Psychologist is a clinical psychologist has has experience in helping patients with chronic pain.

'There is strong evidence that engaging with a psychologist with experience in treating pain early in your treatment can help your recovery. Psychologists can help address the barriers to your recovery. Psychologists are highly trained and qualified professionals skilled in helping people with a range of concerns related to wellbeing, mental health and behaviour, including the psychological difficulties that come with the experience of pain. It can be stressful managing tasks and completing activities while in pain. Psychologists are good at helping people develop their self-management and problem-solving skills, focusing on behaviour change and identifying the barriers that may prevent them from making progress. Psychologists can also assist individuals with chronic pain and their family to work towards their optimal functioning by setting goals and maintaining a balanced routine. Psychologists play a leading role in the delivery of pain management programs and can assess the person’s suitability to take part in such a program. Psychologists also play a key role in helping individuals with pain manage their ability to work. They can assist with managing concentration, motivation, behaviour, and emotions while at work and this can be very important for the person’s self-esteem and confidence. In addition, psychologists can assist with sleep health. Pain can be very disruptive for sleep and lack of sleep can exacerbate the ability to successfully manage pain. Therefore, learning strategies to sleep well is helpful with reducing the pain directly as well as being helpful for managing work and other commitments. (Australian Psychological Society)

Our Team

Dr Christopher Rumball

Dr Rumball is qualified as both a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician and a Specialist in Occupational & Environmental Medicine and is Director of Australis Medical. Since commencing work in Christchurch in 2010 he has focused on complex pain and vocational rehabilitation cases working in close collaboration with the broader team in the community. He trained in pain medicine at Burwood Pain Management Centre.

Dr Rumball has an academic background, with a PhD in the area of developmental origins of health and disease, a Masters in Bioscience Enterprise from Cambridge University and has consulted in the area of translational medicine. He works in healthcare software as Clinical Lead for Sense Medical in their development of the Cortex iOS application which supports interdisciplinary care teams, and was winner of the 2018 NZHIT Innovation Award.

Dr Karen Joseph

Dr Joseph is a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician, who works both at Australis Specialist Pain Clinic and the Christchurch Women's Hospital. She has experience in treating a wide range of chronic pain conditions, but with particular expertise in Chronic Pelvic Pain, having also completed specialist training and vocational registration in Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Sexual & Reproductive Health.

Dr Joseph sits on a number of committees on behalf of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, including the Ministry of Health Endometriosis Taskforce working group, RANZCOG Endometriosis Online Project, and ACC Surgical Mesh External Advisory Group. She is an international ambassador for the International Pelvic Pain Society
She teaches as senior clinical lecturer at the University of Otago, and her research interests are exploring, and attempting to develop ways to meet, the unmet needs of those living with pelvic pain.

Dr Jessica Mills

Dr Jessica Mills is a Clinical Psychologist who specialises in working with patients living with persisting pain. She has worked at the Burwood Pain Management Centre since 2015, and joined Australis in 2019.

Her clinical work focuses on the assessment and treatment of chronic pain within an interdisciplinary setting, the development and piloting of group programmes for patients living with pain, and the sociopsychobiomedical treatment of chronic pelvic pain. She is a member of the NZPS paediatric pain SIG, a member of Pain@Otago research group, and supervises students to complete research in the area of pain management. Her special interest in pelvic pain has recently led to additional training in treating sexual dysfunction, which can be a common complication for people experiencing persistent pain.

Prior to starting studies in Psychology Dr Mills completed a Bachelor in BioMedical Science with majors in Human Genetics and Human Molecular Pathology, which has been useful in navigating the biology of pain.

Michelle Walker

Michelle has been a registered nurse for over 30 years, and been involved in chronic pain management since 2010. She has worked at the Burwood Pain Management Centre, which has included coordinating patient care at the pain management procedure clinic, and she has
developed high-level expertise in neuromodulation. In 2015 she completed a post-graduate diploma in health science with distinction. She has been with the Australis Specialist Pain Clinic since 2018, developing expertise in sleep management, biofeedback, and she manages our
pamidronate clinic.

Amanda Fleming

Amanda is a Physiotherapist who specialises in the management of persisting pain. She graduated from the University of Otago in 2009 and has experience working with musculoskeletal injuries, orthopaedic and neurological rehabilitation.

Like all members of the Australis pain clinic team she has previously worked in the Tertiary pain service at Burwood hospital treating people living with complex chronic pain. Amanda is experienced in management of a wide range of pain conditions including CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) using Graded Motor Imagery. She also works closely with our pelvic pain clinic - including working with those who have experienced mesh injuries.

In line with best practice for treating persisting pain she collaborates with the other members of the team to ensure integrated interdisciplinary care can be provided. Amanda's role in the team includes: reviewing and addressing activity patterning, supervising quota-based graded reactivation programmes and the development of flare up plans.

Rebecca Abrahams

Rebecca Abrahams is a Registered Psychologist and previously Registered Primary School Teacher. After teaching Intermediate aged children for a few years, Rebecca completed her psychology training in 2002 and worked in settings such as Group Special Education (GSE), Te Poutama Arahi Rangatahi (TPAR) and STOP. After moving to Private Practice, Rebecca has worked on a variety of contracts including those for Massey University, van Asch Deaf Education Centre, High and Complex Needs (HCN), Intensive Case Management (ICM) and has delivered and facilitated training for an Anxiety Management programme.

In addition, Rebecca has supervised clinicians, provided assessments and interventions for children, adolescents and their families and currently works with those that have incurred a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury. Rebecca now specialises in helping people live well despite pain with a focus on working with clients in a highly collaborative manner. Amongst the many pain specific courses and workshops completed, Rebecca has recently completed her Post-Graduate Certificate in Health Science endorsed in Pain and Pain Management at the University of Otago.

Dr Bronwyn Lennox Thompson

Dr Bronwyn Lennox Thompson is a highly experienced and educated pain medicine practitioner, having worked and researched in the area for almost 30 years. In 1988 she opened the first occupational therapy return to work company in Auckland, which focused on return to work for individuals with chronic pain. Since then she has worked at the Burwood Pain Management Centre in Christchurch, provided consulting advice to ACC and Injury Management NZ, and maintained a private pain management practice. In addition, she has obtained a Masters degree with her dissertation “WorkAbilities: Returning to work with chronic pain”, and a PhD with the dissertation “Living well with chronic pain: A classical grounded theory”, and runs a research- oriented blog for health professionals in pain management (healthskills.co.nz).

Gina Gilbreath

Gina is the practice manager of Australis Medical and the Australis Specialist Pain Clinic. She has worked with Dr Rumball since 2009, and was key in seeing the practice through the Christchurch Earthquakes and has been key in developing the supporting systems and processes, in particular the Cohort Practice Management System used by Australis Medical.

Cassie Cordwell

Cassie joined the Australis team in a clinical administration role in 2020. She has had a diverse working background in hospitality and retail, production coordination, working with at risk youth in a specialist residential setting and small business management.

Cassie has a friendly, compassionate and kind manner with a focus on our patients. Cassie is always happy to assist, in clinic, by phone and by email

Yanica Carter

After years assisting with the management and administration of a physiotherapy practice in Christchurch, Yanica has joined our team of specialists in a clinical administrator and human resources role. She understands the value of compassion and communication in the planning and delivery of health services. She is always happy to have a chat with colleagues and patients in our clinic and on the phone.

Our News

New paper on endometriosis and pelvic pain

By Chris Rumball • 12 Apr, 2021

A call to action to modernise care for women with persistent pelvic pain

Dr Joseph becomes an international ambassador for the International Pelvic Pain Society

By Chris Rumball • 27 Oct, 2020

Congratulations to Dr Karen Joseph, who has been made an International Ambassador for the International Pelvic Pain Society. This Society was established in 1996 with the following objectives: To promote education about interdisciplinary approaches to the evaluation and treatment of health conditions associated with chronic pelvic pain. To support individuals living with chronic pelvic pain by improving access to care, and supporting physical and emotional well-being. To raise public awareness through education, outreach and engagement and improve the lives of patients worldwide. Dr Joseph, who is a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician and Gynaecologist, has been deeply involved in improving the care of those with chronic pelvic pain in New Zealand. The IPPS International Ambassador recognises IPPS members whose focus is to identify and establish collaborations in their region and between North American based IPPS members and international colleagues who have a similar interest in pelvic pain.