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Chronic Pain and Psychotherapy

Chronic Pain and Psychotherapy

  • Psychological treatments are an important part of treating chronic pain.
  • People with chronic pain may also experience anxiety, depression, and/or PTSD (Sturgeon, 2014).
  • Managing thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that accompany pain, can help reduce pain (Bruns et al., 2013).
  • It has been considered beneficial for therapies to target pain catastrophizing, fear of pain, and pain acceptance (Sturgeon, 2014).

 

Psychologists

  • Psychologists can help you cope with thoughts, feelings, and behaviors surrounding your pain.
  • They can help you work on both your mental and physical health.
  • The treatment plan may involve learning relaxation techniques, changing old beliefs about pain, building new coping skills, and addressing anxiety and depression (Bruns et al., 2013).
  • Psychologists can help you challenge thoughts that you have about pain and develop new ways to think about problems and find solutions.
  • Studies have found that some psychotherapies are as effective as surgery for relieving chronic pain because psychological interventions can alter how your brain processes pain (Bruns et al., 2013).
  • A psychologist can help guide you through lifestyle changes and address insomnia.
  • There are several strategies that can be used. These include pain reprocessing therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy, and more (Sturgeon, 2014).

 

Benefits

  • Some people find that they are better at managing their pain after just a few sessions with a psychologist.
  • People often experience a reduction in pain and an improvement in their quality of life.
  • Some people are able to reduce their opioid use.

 

The Role of Stress

  • Experiencing chronic pain can be very stressful. Stress can trigger muscle tension and muscle spasms.
  • Managing your stress and emotions can affect the intensity of your pain.
  • Psychologists can teach you stress reduction techniques such as meditation and deep breathing. They can even use an approach called biofeedback which teaches you to have more control over your bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, and muscle tension (Bruns et al., 2013).
  • Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but we are not meant to be in constant states of stress. Managing your stress will improve your health and decrease your pain.

 

Finding a Pain Psychologist

Pain Psychology Center

The Better Mind Center

American Chronic Pain Association

 

Sources

Bruns, D., & Kerns, R. D. (2013). Managing chronic pain: How psychologists can help with pain management. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/pain/management 

Sturgeon JA. Psychological therapies for the management of chronic pain. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2014 Apr 10;7:115-24. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S44762. PMID: 24748826; PMCID: PMC3986332.