Hypnosis: Response expectancies?

Let’s explore the proposed mechanisms in hypnosis as I wander through the subject this week.
According to some researchers, response expectancies, or ‘the expectation of one’s own non-volitional reactions to situational cues’ are thought to play a major part in both hypnosis and placebo responding. Let’s translate that: a person’s belief that they will respond to [...]

It’s hard work researching teamwork

After writing about teams and models and the distinct possibility of talking past each other, I had a very quick search for a paper on teamwork and models this morning, and came across this one by a group of Canadian researchers. It is, like many of these pieces of research into the messy and [...]

Talking past each other? Models and interdisciplinary teams

As time passes, therapists can form their own way of working with people – sometimes we get away with this by calling our treatment models ‘eclectic’.  This can be a euphemism for ‘I’ll use whatever I think fits’, or even ‘I like doing this, so this is what I’ll do’!
While this may not be too [...]

That old mind-body thing again…

Editor’s Selection IconI am not a philosopher.  Neither am I very conversant in the arguments around consciousness.  But working in pain management means the mind-body debate is something I run into now and again.  Is pain all about the body? Is pain all about the mind? Or is it both?  Which influences the other?
This debate [...]

Feeling the pain: distraction/relaxation or exposure

It’s not the pain, it’s the judgement of the pain that makes it so distressing – or at least, that’s how the cognitive behavioural model of pain views our experience of pain. As a result, most pain management therapies working to help people manage when their pain can’t be removed involves reviewing how people [...]

Acceptance in chronic pain

It’s a truism that no-one really wants to have pain (and if they do, we probably need to ‘talk’!).  Accepting pain may be equated with ‘giving up hope’ or ‘giving in’ – perhaps acceptance is thought to be about resignation rather than acknowledgement.  In any event, very few of the people I work with seem [...]

What is an acceptable outcome?

Recently I’ve been doing some content analysis of the responses people entering our service have to the question ‘What is your goal for pain management?’ The question is designed to find out what it is that people want so that in some way we can work to meet their expectations.
Along similar lines I’ve been [...]

Self-care or medical care for low back pain: what patients want

For a while I’ve been asking what constitutes ’self management’ for chronic pain. On the one hand there are a group of people who firmly believe that regular medical treatment (including injections every three months or so) is a perfectly legitimate way to maintain a normal life. On the other hand there are people [...]

Coping: what is it?

Some of you will know I’ve been striving to write my PhD proposal lately, ending up with loads more words than actually necessary! However, as part of it I’ve been reviewing some of the material I’ve collected over time on coping.
Coping is one of those difficult words – one we all know, but don’t [...]

Blog posts I love

I’m loving Pain for Philosophers blop – and this post made so much sense to me… hope it does to you!  On confusing ‘amelioration’ with ‘obliteration’.  Does it ring true to you?
..and red-heads – yes, they’re sensitive souls: they DO need more analgesia!
Psychology of Pain has a piece on fibromyalgia: the search for support, I’m [...]