The first question I am often asked by patients with chronic pain is, "How can psychology possibly help me with my pain? My pain is real." Some patients also come to the clinic offended that their doctor suggested psychology as part of their pain treatment.
Let's start with the basic mutual understanding that your pain is REAL! There is no argument that your pain is a very real and very biological process.
In the article "The Brain in Pain" (1), the author summarizes the pathophysiology of pain and methods of pain control. It is well documented that pain arises in the body, travels up the spinal cord, and is processed in the brain through a complex matrix, resulting in the noxious experience we call "pain." I am always excited to read articles like these that beautifully present the logic behind the therapy offered in our clinic and help de-stigmatize psychology. In essence, the article reviews the state of the science in pain treatment and argues that psychology is more than sitting and talking, it can be an active skill-building process that can literally change your brain.
Below is an excerpt from the article:
"These results showed that subjects could be trained to have voluntary control over a specific area ofthe brain related to pain perception, and that these effects were powerful enough to impact severe, clinical pain.
Perhaps retraining the brain to control the activation of pain pathways has the potential to become an important addition to or even substitution for the use of opioids. Besides avoiding the side effects of opioids and the potential for addiction, brain retraining works on inhibiting the overall perception of pain, rather than dampening the already activated pain signals, which is the mechanism by which most analgesics act."
Reference
1. Rhodes, C. (2011). The brain in pain. The Pain Practitioner, 21 (2), 35-43
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