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Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center
Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center
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Home Clinical Services Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center Services We Offer Psychology
Flower Psychology
Why is Psychology an important aspect of chronic pain treatment?
Chronic pain is not only a physical experience; it affects all areas of life including thoughts, feelings and relationships. Because the brain plays such a central role in the pain process, interventions that target a child or adolescent's thoughts, emotions or behaviors related to pain often prove very effective. We do not believe that children and adolescents with chronic pain need to work with a psychologist because the pain is "all in their heads" or because they are "crazy." Rather, psychologists with expertise in pain management work closely with patients and their families to develop skills for coping with pain.
Services offered as part of the comprehensive rehabilitation program
There are a variety of cognitive-behavioral approaches that have been found to be highly effective in relieving pain. These include biofeedback training and a variety of relaxation techniques. Psychologists will work with our patients and families to help them increase the child's level of functioning (e.g. going to school, interacting with peers, doing the things s/he used to enjoy before the pain developed). They can also address feelings of anxiety, sadness, anger and frustration that may arise in children and adolescents who face chronic pain problems.

Specific psychological treatments are likely to include:

  1. Self-management techniques to help reduce pain and improve functioning. These include training in relaxation strategies such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, guided imagery and computer-based biofeedback training. Self-management techniques can give a child or adolescent increased control over his/her pain, which can help the child or adolescent to function better and ultimately to experience decreased pain. Self-management techniques can also include cognitive skills that can help children respond to some of the negative thoughts and feelings that often arise as a consequence of living with pain.

  2. Evaluation and treatment of pain-related emotional difficulties. Although chronic pain is not caused by emotional distress, it is very common for children and adolescents with chronic pain to experience sadness, frustration, anger and anxiety in response to the challenges of living with pain. Because their symptoms are invisible and difficult to measure, peers, adults and even some health care professionals may question whether the pain is "real." Because the mind and body are so strongly connected, emotional distress and pain can interact with and amplify one another so that pain becomes worse as sadness and/or anxiety increases. Psychologists can address these components of the pain experience in hopes that altering mood or anxiety through cognitive-behavioral and family-centered interventions will help with the ultimate goals of reducing pain and increasing functioning.

  3. Working with important "others" in the child/adolescent's life. Pain is not an individual experience but affects everyone around the patient as well. Psychologists in our program will work closely with parents to help them examine their patterns of responding to the child's pain. They can then suggest ways for parents to empower their child to deal more effectively with the pain problem. The psychologists on our team will also connect with patients' schools in most cases. They will work with school personnel to find ways to help our patients function in the school environment after treatment and succeed educationally.
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