Occupational Therapy for Chronic Pain

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The patient with chronic pain presents a dilemma for physical as well as psychiatric health care. Usually coming to the attention of mental health professionals after limited or no successful treatment with medical specialties, these patients present with a variety of factors that disrupt occupational functioning. Occupational therapy is the health profession qualified to analyze occupational function and dysfunction for remedial action of chronic pain behavior. An occupational therapy approach based on the model of human occupation is described. It is proposed as an appropriate treatment strategy for the short-term, acute-care chronic pain patient on a psychiatry service, as part of an interdisciplinary pain program. A discussion of chronic pain, its impact on occupational functioning and the development of an occupational therapy treatment program are presented, along with a case example and implications for further study.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: