Psychologically Informed Practice for Pain: Current Status and Future Directions

Recently, there has been an upsurge of interest in how psychological principles and techniques can be integrated into the pain practice of health professionals of varied backgrounds (e.g. nurses, rehabilitation specialists, and palliative care providers).  Such psychologically-informed practice (PIP) strategies represent a promising approach to preventing and treating chronic pain.  This master class provides a state-of-the science review of the current status and future of psychologically-informed pain care.  

The presenters draw upon extensive clinical and research experience to illustrate the strengths and challenges of this approach.  The master class will be divided into three sections: 1) Dr. Keefe will highlight how advances in behavioral/psychological theories of pain are linked to the current continuum of intervention strategies (from brief to more intensive), 2) Dr. Nicholas will discuss key issues and challenges related to training health professionals in psychologically-informed practice (e.g. amount of training needed to master skills,  maintaining treatment fidelity, supervision, and professional boundaries), and 3) Dr. George will pinpoint future practice clinical and research directions (e.g. understanding/appraising the current state of the science, treatment timing and dosing, and tailoring treatment in pragmatic trials).  The session will end with a panel discussion led by questions and comments from audience members.  (199 words)

Faculty:

• Francis Keefe
• Steven George
• Michael Nicholas