Written by Blue Door Consulting on December 5, 2019
The debate within the field of psychology regarding the right to prescribe psychotropic medication has persisted for the past two decades, with the American Psychological Association (APA) officially considering the matter beginning in 1989.[1] Recent studies estimate that over 44 percent of Americans are prescribed at least one drug, and that 16.5 percent take at […]
Written by Blue Door Consulting on December 5, 2019
Chronic pain, albeit a common medical complaint, is notoriously difficult to both define and study. Though as many as 35 percent of respondents to surveys report persistent pain on at least a weekly basis, pain is by definition subjective and difficult to characterize accurately. The experience of pain and the tolerance for pain vary substantially […]
Written by Blue Door Consulting on December 5, 2019
The incidence of chronic pain is epidemic and contributes to millions of dollars in lost wages, disability payments, and health care costs. Besides the enormous economic impact, the emotional suffering that persons with chronic pain experience is substantial and contributes to problems in all areas. In attempting to cope with unrelenting pain, individuals often experience […]
Written by Blue Door Consulting on December 5, 2019
Graduate training for most psychologists is typically provided solely through the lens of psychological literature. At the time of my training in the 1980s, emphasis was placed on behavioral methods originally proposed by Fordyce (1976) for the management of chronic pain, with some integration of cognitive theory and behavioral interventions. However, current pain theories are […]