Mentorship with Dr. Echenberg

 

New Virtual Training Program - 2025

Practitioner Teaching Program for The Echenberg Institute

Goals

  • Providing practical clinical guidelines for office-based diagnosis and management of persistent pelvic, genital, and sexual pain disorders
  • Opportunity for establishing expert educational and referral help in the care of the following pelvic pain disorders:
    • Vulvodynia
    • Vulvar Vestibulodynia (Vestibulitis)
    • Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis (BPS/IC)
    • Numbers of peripheral pelvic neuropathies, including pudendal, ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, genito-femoral, anococcygeal, lateral and posterior femoral cutaneous nerves.
    • Persistent lower abdominal and lower bowel pain.
    • Hypertonic myofascial pelvic floor dysfunction - clenching of the pelvic floor and core musculature.
    • Failed medical and surgical treatments for endometriosis and other traditional gynecologic causes of chronic pelvic pain - like "recurring ruptured ovarian cysts," uterine fibroids, "pelvic congestion syndrome," and others.
    • Spectrum of genital hyperarousal disorders, which include PGAD, Restless Genital Syndrome, and Genital Dysesthesia Disorders.
    • Learn that chronic pelvic pain is associated with other overlapping chronic pain disorders, including migraine, low back pain, TMJ, fibromyalgia, IBS, RSD, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
    • Chronic, otherwise unexplained inflammatory disorders causing urogenital, vulvovaginal pain and discharge, soreness, itching, edema, and erythema, all in the context of negative cultures. (inflammation without infection).
    • Any sexual pain that is unresponsive to traditional diagnoses and treatments.

 

Included in the mentoring process - basic teaching program

 

  • Receive a pre-educational packet of resources and evidence-based articles for review on urogenital and neuromuscular pelvic pain conditions - mainly from the pain sciences literature. (Dr. Echenberg's new e-book contains many clickable resources but only for Pub Med abstracts.)
  • The practitioner and any staff member can participate in a 2-3-hour new patient initial consultation conducted virtually on a HIPPA-compliant platform. 30-45-minute follow-up virtual consultations can also be shared for teaching purposes.
  • At least several online teaching sessions should be held with staff members to explain the core understanding of this model of care, which is based on current neuroscience about pain processing and structured around a biopsychosocial office-based approach to care.
  • A short screening tool would be supplied for your routine patient population, emphasizing the importance of detecting these disorders as soon as possible to diagnose, treat, educate, and prevent these "routine" patients from progressing with them.
  • Teaching a different abdominal/pelvic region physical examination model for all patients coming through your clinic, applied to all genders. There are many early findings that even the patient is not yet aware of.
  • Visuals are shown of all minimally invasive subcutaneous peripheral sensory nerve blocks for pudendal, posterior femoral cutaneous, ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric, anococcygeal, and genitofemoral nerves and their distributions.
  • Information on the application of Botox to the pelvic floor - slides are included.
  • Availability for video consultation referrals and pelvic health education on more complex patients with persistent pain in the pelvic region. (all structures between the umbilicus and mid-thigh).
  • If your office is within a reasonable driving distance from Bethlehem,  PA, Dr. Echenberg could come to your office and perform a detailed physical exam and his office treatments on several of your patients. This could include injecting Botox into the pelvic floor musculature if needed and previously arranged with the patient.
  • Continued access to Dr. Echenberg for discussion of treatment strategies as needed.
  • All the above includes offices that see patients of all genders and sexual preferences.

Fee schedule is available by contacting Dr. Echenberg 

office@drechenberg.com

 

 

 

 

 

Previous comments by trainees:

"I had the privilege of working with Dr. Echenberg for 3 days and the experience proved to be the most valuable educational time I have ever experienced.  It was far more valuable than any conference I have ever attended.  I came in with an intense interest in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain.  I was having some success but felt I was lacking in some essentials.  It did not take long for me to see a clearer vision of caring for these complex patients.

I was impressed with the time Dr. Echenberg takes time to get to know the patient.  Then, during the treatment phase, he spends a lot of time educating the patients.   Certainly, he utilizes therapies to treat specific pain generators in the pelvis.  Most of these are known therapies, but it is always interesting to see how and where they are employed in specific patients.

It is his understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic pain which was most illuminating.  He discusses the contribution of life traumas, how seemingly innocuous events and episodes can push the pain patient over the edge, and then how to go about 'untangling' those issues with each patient.  He delivers his care with great humility, patience, and empathy.  Though there are a few miraculous transformations, the care is otherwise gritty.  There are no easy answers and patients who have spent years winding into their current state are looking at a potentially protracted course to resolve their issues.  Some will fall off as happens, and revert to their baseline, others will require prolonged maintenance therapy to keep them functional.  I got to see all of these things.  I would strongly recommend this mentorship to anybody interested in improving their knowledge and care of their chronic pelvic pain patients."

Scott Russell, MD, FACOG

Gynecologist in Colorado Springs, CO

"Through this mini-course, Dr. Echenberg demonstrated that neuroscience centrally informs his practice that relieves chronic pelvic pain.  A seasoned physician with a wealth of knowledge and skills, he weaves compassion and careful listening into his novel approach to relieving pain.

By offering this mini-course, Dr. Echenberg shares his seventeen year (now 21 years) expertise and perspective in relieving pelvic pain.  Graduates have a proven platform to launch their own practices to care for women in chronic pain.

It was a privilege to observe his care for patients who effusively expressed their gratitude for Dr. Echenberg and his care.

Barbara Good

Certified Nurse Midwife in Lancaster, PA

“Spending several days with Dr. Echenberg was one of the best things that I have done for my career and for my patients. He uses current pain management concepts and has a very effective way of treating patients with [pelvic pain], that previous providers had not been able to [successfully] treat.

While he was seeing patients, he was also teaching me and took the time to answer all of my questions. It was a wonderful experience and a worthwhile investment. I highly recommend this to anyone who takes care of patients with chronic pelvic and sexual pain.”

Kris Christiansen, MD

Sexual Medicine Physician,   St. Louis Park, Minnesota

 

“Dr. Echenberg has such passion and commitment to helping women and men with pelvic pain. Knowing it is hard for patients to find help, he is eager to share his knowledge with physicians. Observing his compassion with his patients as well as seeing his skills in providing multiple peripheral nerve blocks and bladder treatments was so helpful. He showed me how and where to check for these issues and gave me direct information on treatment details. He also provided me with many resources on pelvic and chronic pain in general. He is a great teacher and learning from him was a wonderful experience.”

 Marah Mattheus-Kairys, MD - Family Practice physician – Philadelphia, PA

“Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to observe you for the day.  You are an excellent teacher to your patients and even to me.  It’s incredible how you have been able to give people back their life after years of pain.  I hope your unique model of compassionate and effective care can be carried forward by other practitioners.”

Danielle Knippenberg, MPT, GCS, PRPC – Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist – Bucks County, PA

"Thank you so much for your hospitality and the opportunity to spend the day seeing the work that you do.  After seeing how grateful your clients are, the value of your work is undeniable in how it helps and saves lives!"

Ilyssa Boseski, MSW, MEd    Counselor for Sexual Therapy, Trauma and PTSD and traumatic brain injury for men and women