A Toolbox Tool for Chronic Pain and Other Issues

Newswise — The historical practice of mindfulness is a burgeoning integrated medicine field associated with benefits for people with issues ranging from insomnia to chronic pain and fueled by more than $550 million in federal funding over the past 20 years.

Yet the evidence for impact on health...

Evidence Based Treatments for Pain Management

The opioid epidemic has caused many patients, clinicians, and payers to seek nonpharmacologic options to assist with managing pain. Psychology has a well-established role in the treatment of pain conditions but familiarity with the range of pain related interventions varies widely among clinicians...

The Relationship of Chronic Pain and Psychopathology

When tapering opioid therapy, frontline practitioners may at times be faced with chronic pain patients suffering from undiagnosed mental health disorders. In most cultures, the majority of mental health cases go unrecognized in primary care settings. About 60% of previously undetected cases could...

The Importance of Self-Care and Avoiding “Physician Burnout”

Newswise — Medical doctors in the United States are twice as likely to experience symptoms of burnout as other workers, which can compromise quality of care and place patients at risk. In a study in JAMA Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic researchers suggest a new approach to fighting burnout: external...

Pain Psychology—What’s in the Toolbox?

We don’t have a cure or a fix for chronic pain. It’s very similar to any chronic health condition for which we don’t have a cure. Diabetes, asthma, heart disease—we don’t have a pill or an injection that will make these things go away. So helping a person learn how to live with these conditions and...

Pain Psychology: Which Therapy for Which Patient?

Current practice in the outpatient setting tends to utilize pain psychology and movement based interventions such as exercise, physical therapy, or yoga as adjuncts to care, and are often delivered separately to the patient. Healthcare providers are aware of the benefits of psychological therapies...

Psychology and Pain Management

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as being both a noxious sensory and emotional experience, so psychology is actually integral to the experience of pain, but we don’t often treat it that way. I advocate for greater appreciation of the psychosocial dimensions of the...

Adolescent Pain During Self-Injury—What’s Going On?

According to Centers for Disease Control statistics, the incidence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents is relatively high, with 10% of boys and 25% of girls conducting such behavior each year. A new study led by researchers at Rutgers University sought to examine what the authors...

New Tool for Effectively Treating PTSD Associated Pain Symptoms?

A randomized controlled pilot trial suggests that pretreatment with noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation may be effective in reducing pain associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients with PTSD may experience symptoms that include anxiety, chronic pain, and negative thoughts or...

Psychology: Resolving Difficult Patient Behaviors

Many frontline practitioners often describe feeling like they are “held hostage” by their chronic pain patients. A lot can be learned from reviewing hostage negotiation techniques used in real-life crisis situations. These negotiation strategies typically yield a 95% success rate, which is a...