Bruce Singer – The Chronic Pain Tool Box: Effective Interventions for Treating Complex Chronic Pain

Outline

• The Chronic Pain Dilemma
  • Pain and its impact on society
    • Neurophysiology and psychology of pain
    • Benefits and the risks of opioids
    • Pain and the family
  • Complex Chronic Pain
    • The progression from acute to chronic pain (physical and emotional factors)
    • Chronic pain syndrome and its constellation of symptoms
    • Conventional treatments and why they fail
  • Pain vs suffering: What are we really treating?
    • The 5 big “negative” emotions that magnify pain
    • The number one rule in pain management
    • Strategies to un-attach pain from suffering
  • Assessment
    • The Interview
      • Validation and the therapeutic alliance
      • Collect a biopsychosocial history
      • Co-occurring disorders and other risk factors
    • The Battery
      • Useful self-report measures
      • Interpretation of results for case conceptualization
      • Effective treatment planning
  • The Chronic Pain Toolbox
    • Best Practice Guidelines and treatment options
      • APA Division 12 recommendations
      • CDC and government recommendations
      • Empathy and the power of the therapeutic alliance
    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
      • Unleash “black ducks” to eat up ANTs
      • Harness the power of client’s own words
      • Recalibrate Pain: a cognitive approach
      • Mindfulness
      • Why mindfulness is essential for the treatment of chronic pain
      • 4 creative interventions to help clients see “What is NOT wrong with me”
      • The FAR approach and how it resonates with clients
      • Limitations of the psychotherapeutic approach
    • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
      • Cognitive defusion and how to use it with clients
      • The Values Compass and how to help clients find their True North
      • Develop motivation and commitment
      • Limitations of the psychotherapeutic approach
    • Gratefulness
      • The hidden power of gratefulness and its evidence for chronic pain
      • 3 gratitude interventions that directly impact the pain experience
    • More Tools You Can Use
      • Include the family in treatment
      • Effective sleep hygiene
      • Multidisciplinary treatments: when and how to use them
      • The T.E.M.P.L.E.S.S hand-out you can share with clients
      • Patient advocate resources
      • Recovery resources