How do help someone change their beliefs about pain?

This post is my little attempt to educate clinicians! Some of you will know I really don’t like the term “pain education” or “educating” people. The reason doesn’t go back as far as the original definition of “educate” which is, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary “educate (v.) mid-15c., “bring up (children), to train,” from Latin educatus, past participle of educare “bring up, rear, educate” (source also of Italian educare, Spanish educar, French éduquer), which is a frequentative of or otherwise related to educere “bring out, lead forth,” from ex- “out” (see ex-) + ducere “to lead” (see duke (n.)). Meaning “provide schooling” is first attested 1580s. Related: Educated; educating.”In other words, educate means to “bring out, lead forth”. Pain education is a buzz word right now. It’s not a new concept, but it certainly has been hitting the consciousness of a whole bunch of people who previously would have thought of pain either in terms of “oh it’s something to do with the tissues” or “if I can’t find the cause, it must be something in the person’s head”.  Learning about pain and the neurobiology of pain is an excellent thing, a wonderful first step for clinicians who may have missed out on learning this stuff in undergraduate training, and I’m not disrespectful of the n...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping strategies Professional topics biopsychosocial healthcare pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs