Information for Patients
Chronic Pain
If you suffer from chronic pain, you realize that physical disability and discomfort affects more than physical functioning. Patients grappling with chronic illness and chronic pain conditions experience dramatic changes in their relationships with their friends and family and they can develop psychological distress that drains their ability to cope with their pain. Most pain management doctors are using a “multidisciplinary approach” to medical treatment and physical rehabilitation in order to more effectively address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of chronic pain and disability.
MedPsych services for psychological pain management are designed to work in conjunction with your ongoing medical care. We provide individual treatment sessions and collaborate with your physician, physical therapist, and other providers to ensure a team approach to pain management. Our focus is on improving behavioral functioning, reducing the impact of stress, and exploring non-medical strategies to improve pain coping. Some patients want to decrease their use of pain medications and we use cognitive-behavioral strategies to help them reach this goal.
We can provide valuable referrals for psychiatric medication, hypnosis, acupuncture, biofeedback training, mindfulness training, vocational rehabilitation, and chronic pain support groups to enhance the likelihood of the best possible pain management outcome. We are also a resource for social security disability, short-term state disability, and long-term disability programs.