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Biopsychosocial Model Essay

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Psychological Assessment and Management of Chronic pain

Evaluating a chronic pain condition from a biological perspective is limiting, and often fails to fully explain the patient’s symptoms. In contrast to the biomedical model, which explains pain purely in terms of pathophysiology, the biopsychosocial model views pain, suffering and disability, as the result of dynamic interactions among biological, psychological, behavioral, social, cultural and environmental factors. Consequently, assessment requires not only the examination of the biological dimension, but of the psychological and social dimensions as well. A patient’s experience of pain and response to any treatment for pain are affected not only by biologically determined nociceptive (nervous system transmission) processes, but also by psychological factors such as mood (for example, depression, anxiety) and appraisals (thoughts and beliefs about the pain), as well as by psychosocial factors such as the responses of others (for example, family, friends, …show more content…

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),
2. Relaxation Training, and
3. Biofeedback.

These approaches are often used together to provide simultaneous interventions at cognitive and physical levels. Research on cognitive behavioral interventions in chronic pain involves CBT, relaxation therapy, biofeedback, or some combination of the three. Generally, some form of CBT is combined with either relaxation training or biofeedback.

Assessment

Patients with chronic pain need to feel understood by those who are providing care to them. On the other hand, a therapist requires relevant and adequate information about the patient from a bio-psychosocial perspective to establish therapeutic goals. Therefore, a comprehensive psychological assessment is a prerequisite for CBT and other interventions (Please refer to chapter “Psychological Assessment of Patients with Chronic Pain”). Before starting the therapy clinician should have understanding of the

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