Publications
APS Bulletin • Volume 14, Number 6, 2004
Resource Reviews
John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor
Pain: Psychological Perspectives
Reviewed by Judith A. Turner, PhD
Edited by T. Hadjistavropoulos and K.D. Craig. Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 2003. 368 pages, hardcover. ISBN: 0805842993. $79.95.
The contributors to this edited volume include a number of international experts in the topics of their chapters. The twelve chapters cover a variety of topics relevant to psychological aspects of pain, including the gate control theory, biopsychosocial approaches, social influences, pain over the lifespan, ethnocultural issues, assessment, and intervention. All of the chapters are good; I will comment on a few I found of particular interest.
The first chapter, “The Gate Control Theory: Reaching for the Brain,” beautifully written by Ronald Melzack and Joel Katz, should be required reading for anyone conducting pain research or assessing or treating patients with pain. It provides a lucid and concise account of the history of theories of pain and important recent advances in scientific understanding of the role of the brain in the experience of pain. The chapter on biopsychosocial approaches to pain, written by Gordon Asmundson and Kristi Wright, is a comprehensive overview of various conceptual models of pain that involve psychosocial components, including the operant, biopsychosocial, biobehavioral, and fear-avoidance models. Following a description of each of these models is a brief review of empirical support for the model. This chapter concludes with the authors’ proposal for an integrated diathesis-stress model of pain. The final two chapters in Pain: Psychological Perspectives are unique. Craig and Hadjistavropoulos provide a thoughtful consideration of current controversies relevant to pain psychology and Hadjistavropoulos discusses ethical issues relevant to psychologists in the assessment, treatment, and study of patients with pain.
This volume is an excellent starting point for anyone, psychologist or non-psychologist, interested in learning more about pain. It is a useful resource for clinicians and researchers already in the field as a single source of comprehensive information on a variety of topics relevant to psychological aspects of pain.
Dr. Turner is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Reviewer content represents the opinion of the reviewer, not APS.
Please direct your suggestions for future Resource Reviews to John D. Loeser, MD, Department Editor, at jdloeser@u.washington.edu