National Kidney Foundation of Michigan

Leading the fight against kidney disease

Living with long-term health problems or chronic pain? The Chronic Disease Personal Action Toward Health (PATH) workshop or Chronic Pain PATH workshop can help!  These workshops provide you with skills and tools to manage long-term health conditions and pain and live a healthier life.

Each week, you will set simple, realistic goals to help improve your health. Before Week 1, an information session will be held to provide an overview, walk through registration forms, cover Zoom basics needed to participate, and share helpful community resources.

The program is offered in person and online. Online requires device with internet access and camera. Chronic Disease PATH is provided in English and limited delivery in Mandarin, Spanish (Tomando Control de Su Salud), and Arabic.

PATH and Chronic Pain PATH were originally developed at Stanford University under the program names: Chronic Disease Self-Management Program and Chronic Pain Self-Management Program.

Middle aged women with brown curly hair smiling with her older mother, who has grey curly hair.

What it is:

  • Info session, plus 6 weekly sessions (2 to 2 ½ hours each)
  • Fun, interactive, small group workshop
  • Led by certified leaders
  • No cost to participate
  • You will get a free book and program materials

Learn how to:

  • Manage symptoms, such as pain
  • Decrease stress
  • Increase heathy eating practices
  • Improve communication skills
  • Increase physical activity
  • Keep personal action plans – and more

Chronic Pain PATH also includes topics focused on pain management and includes a gentle exercise program.

This workshop is for:

  • Adults living with ongoing health conditions
  • Adults living with chronic pain
  • Caregivers and family members

Benefits to participating:

  • Increased connection to others
  • More confidence in taking care of your health
  • Improve your overall health and increase your energy

What Participants are Saying

One year after a fall that injured her back, Rachel K. had tried countless treatments, procedures and remedies to reduce her chronic pain. Then she took the NKFM Chronic Pain PATH workshop: “I’m not completely healed, but I haven’t felt this good since the day before the accident… I’m sleeping better, eating more nourishing food, and I feel confident that, if I continue to apply the knowledge I’ve learned from this resource, I will get progressively better.”

“I took PATH to improve my quality of life. It taught me techniques about coping with stress, relaxation, and problem solving.”

“(This class) opened my eyes to many things”