“ S/he ’ s just not taking the message on board ” – A word to clinicians
I’ve heard it many times, probably said it myself some years back. You’ve presented an idea to the person, but they just don’t seem to be ‘getting it.’ What to do, what to do?
The context of this kind of problem is often when someone’s pain isn’t settling down, or when some kind of self-management strategy is being recommended. To the clinician, the message is probably quite logical: “Here’s some information about pain that I am telling you about” and the unspoken assumption is that the person ought to listen carefully, maybe ask some questions, but essentially...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - December 4, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Back pain Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping Skills healthcare Occupational therapy pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
What are the most commonly used pain self-management strategies?
This study also demonstrates how novel interventions can be examined in groups with small numbers, but still allowing us to measure important changes. As an exploratory design, single case study design replicated with several participants is a method we need to use more.
In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Blasco-Belled and colleagues (2023) found that positive psychology interventions do enhance positive affect and reduce anxiety but didn’t alter depression. There were not many studies included in this analysis suggesting that we still have a hang-up on promoting joy and compassion and all the good things i...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 26, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping Skills Coping strategies Occupational therapy Resilience Resilience/Health Science in practice biopsychosocial pain management Research Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
What are the most commonly used pain self-management strategies?
In a very unscientific vox populi survey conducted via my blog, I asked people with pain to tell me the FIVE self-management strategies they’d used over the week prior. If you’re interested in completing this yourself, click here: click. (Scroll down that page to the survey).
My reason for asking the question is that we have a list of self-management strategies, but the definitions and the way strategies are used in daily life are quite murky. For example, we don’t have a clear definition of ‘activity pacing’ though we are starting to investigate it. We also don’t know whether strateg...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 19, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping strategies Research Resilience/Health pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
How confident are clinicians to deliver pain self-management?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been talking about pain self management from many perspectives. It’s an important topic because most people living with pain will be self managing most of the time. Being able to confidently self manage leads to less disability, distress and lives that look like life, not some endless healthcare regime.
A paper by Penlington et al., (2023) explored confidence beliefs of clinicians working in the UK in primary or community settings prior to a training programme that was then delivered to them. The sample included in the survey is therefore a subset of those who might be expected t...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 12, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping Skills Coping strategies Pain conditions Research Science in practice Health healthcare pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Do clinicians know how to help people develop pain self management?
In recent posts I’ve been discussing pain self management and why it’s not only necessary, but inevitable for people living with pain. Today I turn my gaze to health professionals, and the skills needed to support developing self management – because it’s not the same as ‘telling’, or ‘educating’, or even ‘advising’.
Firstly, let’s check out what people with pain want in self management. Lim and colleagues (2019) conducted a systematic review examining studies identifying ‘health information needs’ of people with low back pain. I put that tit...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 5, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping Skills Low back pain Professional topics Science in practice Clinical reasoning healthcare pain management self-management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
All by myself … don ’ t wanna be
Throughout my career, I’ve been interested in how and why people see clinicians about their pain. I’m intrigued by the journey before, during and afterwards.
I’m interested in the social factors influencing choices in healthcare. If I’ve been gardening over the weekend and I wake up Monday with a sore back it’s easy to see a physio here in NZ. That visit is likely paid for by our accident compensation system (24/7 no-fault scheme paid for by taxes and levies). And the jolly joy germ in me thinks “Well at least that means people don’t have to see a doctor first” – but...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 15, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Back pain Chronic pain Coping strategies Interdisciplinary teams Low back pain Occupational therapy Physiotherapy Psychology Research Science in practice Health pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Self-management, coping – or living with?
After a weekend relaxing by the beach, I’m once again pondering the nature of how people live well with persistent pain. It’s called variously ‘self-management’ or ‘coping’ or, in my life, ‘living with’ pain, and as I pointed out last week, it’s not well-defined. I’m not even sure that people with pain get a look-in at what to call these ‘ways of living’ because it’s typically an academic discussion that excludes the very people who are expected to comply with them!
That gripe aside, what’s wrong with the terms ‘coping’ or &#...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 8, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping strategies Pain conditions Resilience/Health biopsychosocial pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Shhhhh! The secret we don ’ t talk about …
For all my writing about ACT, there are some things that ACT doesn’t directly deal with: what do people use to help them do what matters in their life? OK we do discuss actions, values, perspective-taking, mindfulness, willingness and defusion, but we don’t talk about the specifics of what people living with pain might do to live well. The skills or ways of going about daily life, using things that help people with pain do things. *Scroll to the bottom to see my totally unscientific survey for people with pain*
So for a few weeks I’m exploring self-management: this is one of those poorly-defined terms ...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - October 1, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Back pain Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping Skills Coping strategies Low back pain Occupational therapy Research Science in practice biopsychosocial Health pain management self-management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 6
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!) can use ACT in session.
Actions: It’s what we’re about
You know the old saying “All talk, no action”? The...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 24, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Occupational therapy Pain conditions Physiotherapy Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy biopsychosocial Chronic pain Clinical reasoning pain management Therapeutic app Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 5
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!).
Values: Qualities of living
Oh so much has been written about values…Values bring meaning to what w...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 17, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Occupational therapy Pain conditions Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy Clinical reasoning Health pain management Therapeutic approach Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 5
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!).
Values: Qualities of living
Oh so much has been written about values…Values bring meaning to what w...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 17, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Occupational therapy Pain conditions Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy Clinical reasoning Health pain management Therapeutic approach Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 4
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!).
Willingess (Acceptance) – Choosing to experience it all
Do you remember the poignancy of a beloved ...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 10, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Occupational therapy Physiotherapy Professional topics Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 4
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!).
Willingess (Acceptance) – Choosing to experience it all
Do you remember the poignancy of a beloved ...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 10, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Occupational therapy Physiotherapy Professional topics Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy pain management Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 3
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists can use ACT in session (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!).
Cognitive defusion
I’m guessing that for psychologists and those who primarily work wit...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 4, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping strategies Occupational therapy Pain conditions Physiotherapy Psychology Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy cognitive fusion pain managem Source Type: blogs
Dancing around the hexaflex: Using ACT in practice 2
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can be slippery to describe. It’s an approach that doesn’t aim to change thought content, but instead to help us shift the way we relate to what our mind tells us. It’s also an approach focused on workability: pragmatic and context-specific analysis of how well a strategy is working to achieve being able to do what matters. Over the next few posts I want to give some examples of how non-psychologists (remember ACT is open for anyone to use it!) can use ACT in session.
Self as context
From my experience, this process is possibly the least well understood of the ACT hexafle...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - August 27, 2023 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: ACT - Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Chronic pain Coping strategies Pain conditions Professional topics Science in practice acceptance and commitment therapy Clinical reasoning Occupational therapy Therapeutic approaches Source Type: blogs
