Pain Management Commons^™

Development And Validation Of The Pain Resilience And Optimism Scale (Pros), Wonjin Seo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Numerous self-report questionnaires have been used in pain research to explore patients' experiences. However, these questionnaires often employ negatively worded items that can potentially worsen patients' distress. In response to the emergence of positive psychology, this thesis aimed to develop a new questionnaire that adopts a positive and strengths-focused approach, incorporating resilience, to replace the negative items found in existing tools such as the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). First, the effectiveness of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) in measuring resilience following trauma was assessed through a systematic review using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments …

Mental Health Stigma In South Asians With Crohn’S Disease, Bansi Patel

Scripps Senior Theses

Chronically ill individuals often face comorbid mental illnesses. Mental illness symptoms can cause their chronic illness symptoms to worsen; the converse is also true. Such is the case with Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. The present literature lacks research on the relationship between CD and mental illness symptoms. Additionally, the literature lacks chronically ill participants who are South Asian Americans (SAA). SAA often face more mental health stigma than their white peers which can worsen one’s mental illness symptoms. This study examines the impact that mental health symptoms have on the psychological distress faced by SAA who are diagnosed with CD. …

How To Survive College As An Acoa: The Effectiveness Of University Resources On Helping Acoas Socially And Psychologically Succeed During Their Academic Career, Kelly Buchan

Senior Theses

In 2019, 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), but only 10% received treatment (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA], 2022). Parental drinking problems can directly affect children, or “Adult Children of Alcoholics.” Of the few studies targeting ACoAs, results show that ACoAs not only have higher risks of mental illness, but they also have lower GPAs and social health (Schroeder & Kelley, 2008). Thus, this study assessed the extent to which perceptions of the college drinking environment are related to higher depression rates in ACoAs, certain drinking motivations, and reluctance to use …

Thoughts, Feelings, Actions; The Brevity Of Being: A Haiku Method, Scott Medeiros

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The difficulties of delivering clinical services during the pandemic showed that there was a need for interventions that were able to be adapted to virtual sessions. In addition, lack of training and expertise regarding specialized therapies require modern day clinicians to be able to synergize current theory with the reality of the mental health landscape. In this study, 19 individuals participated in a psychoeducation group that taught a therapeutic thought mapping technique that was then adapted towards the creation of a haiku. It was noticed that participants were able to learn a psychological concept, apply it towards their life, create …

Mindfulness And Pain Regulation: The Role Of Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Individuals With Chronic Pain, Ariana C. White

Honors Theses and Capstones

Chronic pain is a significant and widely prevalent health condition which requires comprehensive care to address the many facets contributing to symptomatology. In 2016, 20% of American adults (about 50 million) reported experiencing chronic pain, of which 7.4% indicated that chronic pain frequently limited their life and participation in activities within the past 3 months (CDC, 2018). As a result, many individuals with chronic pain turn to opioid-based medication for pain relief, but long-term use of opioids actually increases pain sensation (Tobin, 2019). Moreover, opioid medication is unable to target underlying mental health components which emerge as part of chronic …

Attitudes Toward Mindfulness And Adherence In Chronic Pain Management, Sarah Johnson

Global Honors Theses

Chronic pain is a global public health problem, affecting 10-25% of the population. Mindfulness is an effective treatment but requires consistency. Because of its benefit, it is important to examine obstacles to mindfulness practice. In order to determine if negative attitudes toward mindfulness are related to non-adherence, 748 adults with chronic pain were recruited to fill out a series of questionnaires assessing treatment adherence and attitudes toward mindfulness. We found that positive attitudes toward mindfulness predicted reduced adherence. However, those who had more positive feelings toward mindfulness made more attempts at the therapy. Upper and middle-class participants had more positive …

The Use Of Mindfulness Meditation To Increase The Efficacy Of Mirror Visual Feedback For Reducing Phantom Limb Pain In Amputees, Nicolas Sebastian Mills

Doctoral Dissertations

Phantom limb pain is a chronic pain condition that negatively impacts the lives of over half of amputees, and results in considerable morbidity. Currently, there is no gold standard for treatment for phantom limb pain. However, a frequently used intervention is the use of mirror visual feedback, in which the amputee watches the reflection of the adjacent non-amputated limb move and exercise. In the last few decades, mindfulness-based interventions have been increasingly used with individuals living with different types of chronic pain. This study attempts to discover if the addition of a mindfulness-based intervention, such as guided meditation, will augment …

Student Wellbeing And Open Studio Process In The School Curriculum, Maria Kim

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to explore whether Open Studio Process (OSP) increased wellbeing of middle and high school students when facilitated by teachers as a part of the regular art curriculum. It was hypothesized that OSP might increase the sense of wellbeing among middle and high school students as well as facilitating teachers. The research was conducted as a mixed methods study in South Korea where students need preventative interventions for their wellbeing. The researcher trained eight teachers to facilitate OSP and five of them implemented it with their classes for seven sessions. Quantitative data (K-YSR; pre- and posttest) were collected …

A Program Evaluation Of Physician Medical Clinic’S Approach To Chronic Pain, William Summers

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Chronic pain costs up to $635 billion dollars annually and impacts 25.3 million adult U.S. citizens (Nahin, 2015). Treatment options have typically included opioid medications, which potentially causes harm with long-term use and has contributed to an epidemic of opioid misuse. Treatment has expanded beyond monotherapy to include holistic approaches to health, such as occupational therapy and mental health therapy. The present study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of group therapy as it is conducted in a rural Oregon clinic using the Quadruple Aim to measure treatment outcomes (Bodenheimer, & Sinsky, 2014). Participants diagnosed with chronic pain and placed on …

Predictors And Health Outcomes Of Treatment-Resistant Depression Among Adults With Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Conditions And Major Depressive Disorder, Drishti Shah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Understanding major depressive disorder (MDD) as a comorbidity in patients with chronic non-cancer pain conditions (CNPC) is of importance because of the high prevalence and well documented bi-directional relationship between MDD and pain. Furthermore, presence of CNPC among adults with MDD often reduces benefits of antidepressant therapy, thereby increasing the possibility of treatment resistance. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) commonly defined as insufficient response to multiple antidepressant trials, often worsens depression and pain symptoms and can amplify the clinical and economic burden among adults with CNPC and MDD. Additionally, long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) may be prescribed at a higher rate to adults …

Dancing, Mindfulness, And Our Emotions: Embracing The Mind, Body, And Sole, Alisha M. Collins

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project examines dance, as an intervention and mindfulness practice that assists with managing our emotions. There is a need for dance therapy in social institutions such as, healthcare facilities, schools, and community centers. Dance therapy has the potential to reduce negative emotions, create mindfulness, improve self-expression, and promote a healthy well-being. I am proposing that dance therapy is applied as a regular practice in social institutions to develop mindfulness and promote emotional stability.

In this study, I argue that dance therapy can contribute to our well-being long term. In addition to this written thesis, a visual component of …

Provider Based Interventions To Mitigate Risk For Opioid Pain Medication Abuse Among Adult Patients In A Primary Care Setting, Sheree Lamara Conley-Donaldson

Doctoral Projects

Mental and substance use disorders are predicted to exceed all physical disease processes causing major disability by 2020. Misuse and overdose of opioid pain medications is a significant public health concern in the United States. Approximately 1 in 4 patients receiving prescription opioids in primary care settings struggle with misuse. Half of all opioid prescriptions are written by primary care providers, including nurse practitioners. The purpose of this DNP project was to determine if nurse practitioner providers are implementing evidence-based practice guidelines including screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to mitigate risk of prescription opioid pain medication misuse …

Treating Chronic Pain At A Federally Qualified Health Center: Staff Perspectives, Nathan K. Goins

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Although half of all patients with chronic pain seek treatment with their primary care practitioner, many physicians report being overburdened, with limited confidence in their training in the treatment of chronic pain. Opiate monotherapy remains the most common treatment utilized, despite strong correlations with addiction issues and increased distrust between patients and providers. In response to these issues, multidisciplinary stepped-care approaches utilizing psychoeducation, cognitive therapies, movement-based therapy, pharmaceutical treatment, yoga, and acupuncture have been developed. However, treatment within Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are complicated by financial constraints and high complexity in patient populations. This study examined the perspectives of …

Chronic Pain Causal Attributions In An Interdisciplinary Primary Care Clinic: Patient-Provider And Provider-Provider Discrepancies, Bryan Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of pain causal attributions on patient pain-related functioning, treatment engagement, and clinical outcomes. Additionally, the impact of discordant pain causal attributions between patients and their providers as well as between interdisciplinary providers was examined. Patients rated their pain functioning and causal pain attributions during a regular clinic visit. Following the patient’s visit both the behavioral medicine provider and internal medicine resident provided ratings of similar pain-related functioning domains and causal attributions. Follow-up data were collected from the electronic medical record three months following that clinic visit. Overall, results revealed …

Trauma In Patients With Serious Mental Illness: The Acceptability And Impact Of A Brief Psychoeducational Intervention For Trauma In The General Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Setting, Kevin E. A. Giangrasso

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Prevalence rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) are high, with an estimated 49% to 100% being exposed to potentially traumatic events. The consequences of these disorders are serious and lasting, with PTSD being the costliest of mental health disorders. At the same time, established evidence-based treatments for PTSD are often not feasible in treatment settings utilized by individuals with SMIs, namely the general acute inpatient psychiatric hospital. Psychoeducational approaches have been incorporated as a component of evidence-based interventions for trauma and have been feasibly implemented in the general acute inpatient psychiatric hospital. The …

The Relations Of Pain, Religious Coping, And Depression In Fibromyalgia Patients, Derek O. Bacchus

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study attempted to examine the relationship between Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) pain, religious coping, and depression. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), RCOPE, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were used to assess these constructs in 50 participants. The sample was primarily middle aged and female, which is typical of the FMS population. This study used multiple regression to make assumptions about the causal progression of the variables. Study findings show that religious coping does not appear to significantly mediate the strong relationship between FMS pain and depression. This research served to uncover …

The Efficacy Of Biofeedback In The Treatment Of Tension Headaches, Micahel Earl Waters

Graduate Theses

Fifteen adults from the general population with chronic tension headaches were divided into four groups. Four were assigned to relaxation instructions, biofeedback (EMG and temperature), and home relaxation practice; four were assigned to relaxation instructions and biofeedback; four were assigned to biofeedback alone; and three were assigned to a no-treatment group. Subjects completed a ten-day baseline period followed by a three-week treatment period. Measures were taken of headache frequency, duration, intensity, frontalis EMG, and temperature recordings. Comparisons of pre- and post-treatment data indicated that not one treatment group was significantly different from any other treatment group, including the no-treatment group, …