Holstep Health Chronic Pain Service – Northern Regions

The Holstep Health (formerly Merri Health) Chronic Pain Service (CPS) provides an evidence-based, multidisciplinary service to support people to manage and recover from persistent pain.

The service is available to people aged 18 and over who have experienced chronic pain for more than three months, and is open to residents of Hume, Darebin, Merri-bek, Yarra, Melbourne, Moonee Valley and the Macedon Ranges.

This community-based service is delivered by a team of highly specialised pain clinicians, providing holistic, person-centred care. Care is delivered in collaboration with general practitioners and specialist clinicians from The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Northern Health.

The program uses a range of treatment approaches tailored to individual needs, including:

• medical management and medication support
• cognitive functional therapy
• psychological support
• lifestyle coaching and exercise
• mindfulness and pain management strategies

The service provides:

• an active, biopsychosocial approach to pain management
• individual, group and telehealth options
• care coordination, physiotherapy, and clinical psychology
• medical consultation (where required), delivered in partnership with The Royal Melbourne Hospital
• opportunities for case consultation and multidisciplinary care planning.

Client data and outcomes are collected through Holstep Health’s systems and the national Electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration (ePPOC).

Results show:

• the service supports a complex cohort, with most clients experiencing long-term pain and significant impacts on daily life and employment.
• clients access both individual and group-based care, with over 100 new episodes of care each year.
• the program demonstrates strong outcomes, particularly in:
  • improving how pain impacts daily life
  • building confidence in self-management
  • reducing unhelpful pain beliefs
• Opioid use is relatively low compared to national benchmarks, reflecting a focus on non-pharmacological approaches

“This program helped me more in two months than anything else I’ve done in the past two years. I’ve already recommended it to others.”

“The program felt like a first step towards a new life. It gave me the tools to manage my pain and, for the first time, I felt understood and supported.”

Page updated 27 August 2026.