I’m a member of the Friday fanclub!
A long weekend beckons – Manly Jack is going to Stewart Island, and the camera gear is lined up ready to try out some off-camera flash (strobist if you’re into jargon). Go here for some info on Strobist – lots of fun and not quite as difficult as the shots would suggest. If you’re not … Read more
The gap between pain management – and returning to work
One of the most satisfying experiences I have in my job is seeing someone who has been off work for ages finally return to work. It’s like seeing the person open up and bloom again. I often see people who have been off work for several years – most of them don’t have jobs to … Read more
Travel to interesting places online!
Today’s post is about some of the interesting links you can find online. Mostly links to do with brains, psychology and pain – but not all! Genes to Cognition Online – featuring the 3-D brain, lovely interactive graphical interface to burrow down into really interesting topics like cognitive processes, disorders, research approaches and neuroimaging research, … Read more
Overcoming Pain – David Hall’s new book!
Every now and then you run into someone who makes a real impact on you – Dave’s one of those people. I met him in Sydney at the International Association for the Study of Pain World Congress in 2005 (take a look here at the information on the next one), and we’ve intermittently kept in … Read more
The complexities of interdisciplinary teams
Pain management, especially chronic pain management, is characterised by using an interdisciplinary approach rather than a multidisciplinary one. Distinguishing between the two can be a case of splitting hairs at times, but the fundamental difference is that in multidisciplinary teams, treatment is carried out by different team members who may work with the patient concurrently, … Read more
Do you have to suffer when you have pain?
I’ve read many many reports documenting the experiences of people who have pain. From medical to physiotherapy to occupational therapy to nursing, without distinction the phrase that leaps from the page is ‘The patient suffered a [insert pain problem here]‘. Sigh. My question is, does suffering inevitably accompany pain? Really? What about the pain that … Read more
Venn Diagrams go Quirky
Cute – so cute!
Light relief on a wet ‘n’ wild Friday
It’s really quite horrible outside. Cold, rainy, windy – but I’m inside and not at work! A reminder that the golden weather has only just left (for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere!) …and that beauty can be found in left-over objects. Oh, you wanted Friday Funnies? Hold on, they’re on their way… Manly … Read more
Goals or actions?
Goals seem to work best when they’re important to the person, and the person has sufficient confidence that they’re going to be achieved. But…’there is many a slip betwixt cup and lip’ – while the goal might be set, actually getting there depends on many things. I wonder whether we can inadvertently slip up when … Read more
Tell me what you want, what you really, really want
A theme in almost any reading about health is that treatment should be patient-focused, typically goal-directed and have some sort of measureable impact. Over the past few weeks I’ve been reading about the process of goal setting and motivation, finding that there can be quite some differences between what a therapist sees as a suitable … Read more
