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guidelines (Mind/Body)
treatment of pain
psychospiritual approaches
definition
guided imagery: The patient visualizes certain pictures in his mind that have been found to relieve pain and tension. At the start, the patient is taught the images and guided through the process by a trained therapist. If effective, the patient is taught to use the technique on his own. Guided imagery has also been used to increase the effectiveness of standard treatments. (Simonton, p. 123)
biofeedback: The patient is taught to control certain body functions (HR, BP, respiration, temperature, etc.) at will. At first the patient gets feedback from the monitoring machines so he can see how he's doing. After the techniques are learned, the patient can use them on his own. The biofeedback techniques are based on the relationship between tension and perceived pain. (Salsbury, p. 144)
hypnotherapy: The anxieties and intractable pain frequently associated with cancer in its terminal stages can be alleviated with hypnotherapy. At first the hypnotic suggestion is controlled by a trained hypnotherapist. If the techniques are effective, the patient is taught self-hypnosis. The results are roughly proportional to the depth of trance. (Locke, 1986, p. 238)
combination therapies: All methods for the treatment of pain have their shortcomings - psychotherapy, relaxation, biofeedback, hypnosis, and behavior therapy. The best results are seen when a combination of them is used in the frame of a multidimensional pain clinic. (Locke, 1986, p. 239)
relaxation and meditation: A body in a state of stress and tension feels more pain than a relaxed body.
a note on etiology: Chronic pain syndrome develops as a result of having chronically negative attitudes and/or unconscious emotional response mechanisms that keep a person continually in stress. Chronic attitude problems are so much a part of a person's self-image that he or she does not recognize them as separate from the personality. Chronic negative patterns, attitudes, and behaviors create chronic pain. The invisible nature of chronic patterns cannot be overemphasized. Nothing is more difficult to identify than our assumed 'natural' ways of being in the world, which are essentially patterns we have developed to help us cope. Certain body parts susceptible to chronic negative patterns include the spine, the stomach (as in ulcers), and the head (tension and migraine headaches). (Shealy, p. 256-266)
see:
behavior modification
body reveals: the spirit
cancer treatments: immune enhancement (meditation)
hypnotherapy: overview
meditation: forgiveness
meditation: pain
nocebo effect
process paradigm
relaxation techniques
reframing
self-hypnosis
state-dependent learning
subjective inquiry approach
the shadow and physical symptoms
imagery: precautions
imagery: principles: receptive or programmed?
imagery techniques
footnotes