I'm Sara Hauber, and I teach clinicians how to better help people in pain.
Sara D. Hauber, PhD
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A Masters degree in Health Communication and a PhD in Allied Health (Physiotherapy).
Peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations to researchers and clinicians. Those achievements were inspired by a single question: "What helps people heal?" Decades ago, I was a licensed fitness trainer specializing in post-rehabilitation fitness for people with persistent back and joint pain. I noticed enormous differences in the patients I could help heal and those I could not. And I wanted to know why. In-depth training as a wellness coach introduced me to person-centered care, motivational interviewing, and the social side of health and illness. Many hours of continuing education followed. |
Within months of being licensed as a coach, I could see: The words people used to describe their pain, and the way I responded to clients' expressed beliefs and emotions, appeared to have a direct impact on their ability to heal.
This discovery seemed like magic.
My relationship with my clients--built on trust, safety, and an unwavering belief in their wholeness--was an active part of the "active" treatment I was hired to administer: exercises, stretches, lifestyle changes.
It was then that I discovered:
This revolution in thinking inspired me to pursue a Masters degree in Health Communication and, later on, a PhD in Allied Health.
A dedication to understanding the interpersonal, social, relational factors impacting health, illness, and healing has since underscored my academic, professional, and personal life.
This discovery seemed like magic.
My relationship with my clients--built on trust, safety, and an unwavering belief in their wholeness--was an active part of the "active" treatment I was hired to administer: exercises, stretches, lifestyle changes.
It was then that I discovered:
- Compassionate human relationships are an active treatment.
- Empathic communication is an active treatment.
- Listening is an active treatment.
- Making space for emotions is an active treatment.
This revolution in thinking inspired me to pursue a Masters degree in Health Communication and, later on, a PhD in Allied Health.
A dedication to understanding the interpersonal, social, relational factors impacting health, illness, and healing has since underscored my academic, professional, and personal life.
My Personal Experience Healing Chronic Pain
In 2025, while finishing the writing of my PhD thesis, I experienced chronic, widespread, debilitating pain for the first time in my life.
This was no coincidence: It was the most stressful period I'd experienced in almost 30 years, and my body was responding appropriately to the perceived threat that my circumstances represented.
By applying what I knew from my research, I was able to completely heal from the devastating pain in a relatively short time. The focus of the healing was entirely based on emotional and interpersonal phenomena:
This personal experience of healing from chronic, daily, deblitating pain only added to my desire to help the people who hold so much power when someone develops and seeks medical treatment for chronic pain: Clinicians.
If you're not a chronic pain researcher, the experience of waking up and not being able to move due to pain is absolutely terrifying.
But going to doctor after doctor and getting negative test results, followed by the words, "We don't know what's wrong. There's nothing we can do for you," is equally (if not more) terrifying.
My research and personal experience with chronic pain show without any doubt the incredible power that words and relationships have to either help someone heal or to keep them suffering.
My goal: Empower clinicians to truly help heal the people they treat.
This was no coincidence: It was the most stressful period I'd experienced in almost 30 years, and my body was responding appropriately to the perceived threat that my circumstances represented.
By applying what I knew from my research, I was able to completely heal from the devastating pain in a relatively short time. The focus of the healing was entirely based on emotional and interpersonal phenomena:
- Feeling
- Listening
- Compassion
- Empathy
- Acceptance
This personal experience of healing from chronic, daily, deblitating pain only added to my desire to help the people who hold so much power when someone develops and seeks medical treatment for chronic pain: Clinicians.
If you're not a chronic pain researcher, the experience of waking up and not being able to move due to pain is absolutely terrifying.
But going to doctor after doctor and getting negative test results, followed by the words, "We don't know what's wrong. There's nothing we can do for you," is equally (if not more) terrifying.
My research and personal experience with chronic pain show without any doubt the incredible power that words and relationships have to either help someone heal or to keep them suffering.
My goal: Empower clinicians to truly help heal the people they treat.
My Education, Training, and Career Highlights
Higher Education
• Ph.D. in Allied Health, specializing in social aspects of nonspecific back pain, University of Limerick, Ireland
• M.A. in Health Communication w/minor in Research Methods, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• B.A. in English (magna cum laude) w/minor in Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Professional Certifications
• Certified Wellness Coach by Wellcoaches
• 230-hour Yoga Teacher Training (Asheville Yoga Center)
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Certified Health Fitness Specialist
• National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) Personal Trainer
• Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer
• IDEA Advanced Personal Fitness Trainer
Featured Continuing Education Courses
• Motivational Interviewing with Dr. Jacqueline Elders
• Post-Orthopedic Rehab for Personal Trainers
• Chronic Musculoskeletal Challenges and Exercise
• Health Behavior Theory with Dr. Phil Troped
• Health Communication with Dr. Susan Morgan
• Lifestyle Fitness Coaching with Dr. Jim Gavin
• Coaching Psychology Workshop
• Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviors
• Medical Wellness Coaching
• Advanced Training in Weight Management
Publications
• ‘It can be very complicated’: A qualitative analysis of clinicians’ practices and perspectives on treating adolescents with nonspecific persistent back pain. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2025. 39(4), 549–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155251324589
• Credibility, readability and content analysis of treatment recommendations for adolescents with nonspecific back pain published on consumer websites. European Journal of Pain. 2024. 28(9), 1571–1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.2282
• Describing the nonsurgical, nonpharmacological interventions offered to adolescents with persistent back pain in randomized trials: A scoping review. European Journal of Pain. 2023. 27(4), 459–475. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.2073
• “Understanding the Non-adherent Client,” Personal Fitness Professional
• “Self Care for Helping Professionals,” Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur
• “Coaching Communication for Wellness Professionals,” simultaneous appearance in Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur and Personal Fitness Professional
• “More than a Workout,” a 5-page cover story in Personal Fitness Professional, December 2004, about coaching trends in the personal training industry
Media and Conference Appearances
• 'It can be very complicated’: A qualitative analysis of clinicians’ practices and perspectives on treating adolescents with nonspecific persistent back pain. [Poster, March 12, 2026], 1st Annual German Postdoc Network Congference, Munich, Germany
• Featured in The Irish Times article by McGreevy, R. (March 20, 2023). Stress and sleep-deprivation causing back pain for teens, not schoolbags, study suggests. https://www.irishtimes.com/health/your-family/2023/03/20/stress-and-sleep-deprivation-causing-back-pain-for-teens-not-schoolbags-study-suggests/
• What Does Dr. Google Say About How to Treat Non-Specific Back Pain in Adolescents? [Poster, October 2, 2023]. 14th International Symposium on Pediatric Pain, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Interviewed on Wired In with Evan Condon, Wired 99.9 FM Ireland [radio interview, March 22, 2023]. Discussing adolescent nonspecific back pain.
• Interviewed on Limerick Today with Joe Nash, Limerick Live 95 Ireland [radio interview, March 20, 2023]. Discussing adolescent nonspecific back pain.
• Ph.D. in Allied Health, specializing in social aspects of nonspecific back pain, University of Limerick, Ireland
• M.A. in Health Communication w/minor in Research Methods, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• B.A. in English (magna cum laude) w/minor in Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Professional Certifications
• Certified Wellness Coach by Wellcoaches
• 230-hour Yoga Teacher Training (Asheville Yoga Center)
• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Certified Health Fitness Specialist
• National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) Personal Trainer
• Sports Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM)
• American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer
• IDEA Advanced Personal Fitness Trainer
Featured Continuing Education Courses
• Motivational Interviewing with Dr. Jacqueline Elders
• Post-Orthopedic Rehab for Personal Trainers
• Chronic Musculoskeletal Challenges and Exercise
• Health Behavior Theory with Dr. Phil Troped
• Health Communication with Dr. Susan Morgan
• Lifestyle Fitness Coaching with Dr. Jim Gavin
• Coaching Psychology Workshop
• Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviors
• Medical Wellness Coaching
• Advanced Training in Weight Management
Publications
• ‘It can be very complicated’: A qualitative analysis of clinicians’ practices and perspectives on treating adolescents with nonspecific persistent back pain. Clinical Rehabilitation. 2025. 39(4), 549–558. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155251324589
• Credibility, readability and content analysis of treatment recommendations for adolescents with nonspecific back pain published on consumer websites. European Journal of Pain. 2024. 28(9), 1571–1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.2282
• Describing the nonsurgical, nonpharmacological interventions offered to adolescents with persistent back pain in randomized trials: A scoping review. European Journal of Pain. 2023. 27(4), 459–475. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.2073
• “Understanding the Non-adherent Client,” Personal Fitness Professional
• “Self Care for Helping Professionals,” Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur
• “Coaching Communication for Wellness Professionals,” simultaneous appearance in Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur and Personal Fitness Professional
• “More than a Workout,” a 5-page cover story in Personal Fitness Professional, December 2004, about coaching trends in the personal training industry
Media and Conference Appearances
• 'It can be very complicated’: A qualitative analysis of clinicians’ practices and perspectives on treating adolescents with nonspecific persistent back pain. [Poster, March 12, 2026], 1st Annual German Postdoc Network Congference, Munich, Germany
• Featured in The Irish Times article by McGreevy, R. (March 20, 2023). Stress and sleep-deprivation causing back pain for teens, not schoolbags, study suggests. https://www.irishtimes.com/health/your-family/2023/03/20/stress-and-sleep-deprivation-causing-back-pain-for-teens-not-schoolbags-study-suggests/
• What Does Dr. Google Say About How to Treat Non-Specific Back Pain in Adolescents? [Poster, October 2, 2023]. 14th International Symposium on Pediatric Pain, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Interviewed on Wired In with Evan Condon, Wired 99.9 FM Ireland [radio interview, March 22, 2023]. Discussing adolescent nonspecific back pain.
• Interviewed on Limerick Today with Joe Nash, Limerick Live 95 Ireland [radio interview, March 20, 2023]. Discussing adolescent nonspecific back pain.
