Cushions bearing ‘Keep Calm’ logos, faux fur throws and a basket of twinkling red fairy lights bring a touch of tranquil glamour to the church hall floor.

Joy Reeves has recreated the relaxing ambiance of her Bradford home within the confines of St Cuthbert’s Church in Wrose where she and Chris Nelson hope to bring a smile to the faces of fellow chronic pain sufferers.

The appropriately-named Smile Centre isn’t a new concept. A similar initiative is already running in Liverpool. After seeing the benefits it brought, Joy and Chris looked into bringing it to Bradford where there was already an established Pain Clinic.

Developed by Dr Frances Cole, an expert in cognitive behavioural therapy and contributor to books such as Overcoming Chronic Pain, the national ‘GP book of books’ on prescription scheme in England, the Pain Rehabilitation Programme service launched in 1996. At that time, it was believed to be the country’s first community-based primary care-run pain rehabilitation programme.

Since renamed Living with Pain Service and based at Horton Park Medical centre, the programme gives chronic pain sufferers the tools to live their lives without being controlled by their condition. They learn how to set their own goals and techniques such as exercise, relaxation and crafts to manage their condition.

“What we do is enable people to build their confidence to live a better life with pain,” explains Dr Cole. “Helping people accept and move from misery and distress lives to hopeful and enjoyable lives even with pain.”

Chris, 44, from Bradford, has suffered with pain, predominantly in his back and legs, from childhood. Before embarking on the programme with Dr Cole, Chris was taking 45 tablets daily to deal with the pain which was controlling his life and curbed his truck driving career.

Gradually his reliance on medication was relieved as he learned new techniques to cope with his condition. Today Chris is tablet free and is now embracing the world beyond his bed and chair.

“My life was my chair or my bed,” says Chris, who was concerned his back would snap if he moved any further.

At times his voice falters as he recalls the impact his condition was having on his family. “I always had back and leg pain from as young as five or six. Pain to me is part of my life,” says Chris. “But it gradually got worse.”

His turning point came when he was referred to Dr Cole in 1996. Chris says the cognitive behavioural therapy he learned with Dr Cole opened up his mind.

According to Dr Cole, in the 12 months prior to embarking on a pain rehabilitation programme, the cost to the NHS exceeds £35,000 per person in medication and intervention treatments.

Emphasising the importance of the pain rehabilitation programme, she says: “In the 12 months afterwards it is £3,500 – they are taking less medication, they require less healthcare and they are better at self care,” says Dr Cole.

Chris spent years in and out of a wheelchair. Standing tall, he can now walk with crutches. “I still need them because my right leg just gives way from time to time,” says Chris, who discovered he was suffering from spinal stenosis – something he believes he was born with.

Chris explains the combination of CBT (cognitive behavioural support) and support from the Living with Pain service enabled him to change his mind set to work with and improve his understanding of his body.

“I learned to understand the pain, telling myself on a daily basis that it’s not my fault; learning to be kind to myself and understanding breathing and stretching techniques, balancing and strengthening core muscles.”

Through the techniques he learned, the father-of-four is now volunteering in a charity shop and with the Inn Churches initiative in Bradford.

One of Chris’s proudest moments was attending his daughter’s university graduation ceremony. “For me to do that was amazing, and spending time with the children and being a family,” he says.

In appreciation of how dramatically his own life has changed through the support he has received, Chris is eager to share his experience with fellow pain sufferers and those currently on the Living with Pain waiting list, their families and carers, through the Smile Centre which he has helped set up in Bradford.

Joy Reeves, 58, who is helping to run Bradford’s Smile Centre, is another of Dr Cole’s success stories. Relaxing among the throws and cushions, Joy explains how it provides a sanctuary and helps her to cope with her pain.

From birth, Joy has had to contend with complications with her health. Her mum had German measles while pregnant with her which, she believes, led her to have a tethered spine.

Crippled by pain, Joy was referred to see Dr Cole. Meditation is one of the tools Joy used to ease her pain and it helped her to shed 7st, too. Now she’s eager to pass on the techniques to others.

“Pain takes over you,” she says. “I have pain in five areas at the moment and it’s realising there are parts of my body which are not in pain and that I can still do what I want to do by pacing and being careful about what I can do.”

Dr Katherine Wright, a clinical psychologist working with the Living with Pain Service says: “We support Smile and we hope that patients who have been through our services will develop strategies they have learned throughout their life time and smile will support them in that.

Dr Wright says self management therapies are very powerful and can be very effective for people who believe there is little hope for improving their lives. “It can be improved markedly,” she adds.

The Smile Centre opens on Fridays from 9.30am to 12.30pm at St Cuthbert’s Church, Wrose Road, Wrose. For more information, call 07533 674902.