Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D.
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
Michael Karson
Second Advisor
Rohini Gupta
Third Advisor
Mac Kentnor
Keywords
Primary care, Chronic pain, Treatment relationship, Intersubjectivity, Working alliance
Abstract
Treatment relationships between primary care providers (PCPs) and chronic pain patients are often rife with difficult interpersonal dynamics and experienced by both parties as being noncollaborative. It is important that PCPs are provided with recommendations to make these treatment relationships more collaborative. Relational psychological frameworks, such as intersubjectivity, can teach PCPs how to improve their relationships with chronic pain patients. This paper focuses on how to strengthen the working alliance between PCPs and chronic pain patients using intersubjective principles. Conceptualizing the working alliance from an intersubjective lens gives PCPs guidance about where to turn if their treatment relationships with chronic pain patients feel stuck and uncollaborative. Listening through the mindset of how to build collaborative treatment relationships rather than cure pain will allow chronic pain patients to feel tended to and their doctors to feel helpful even when their pain persists.
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Publication Statement
Copyright held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Extent
29 pgs
Recommended Citation
Hillel, Rebecca, "Doubled Up with Pain: Applying a Relational Framework to the Primary Care Provider - Chronic Pain Patient Relationship" (2020). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 369.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/369