Am J Psychiatry 1976; 133:752-756
Copyright © 1976 by American Psychiatric Association
The psychiatrist and the pain clinic
I Pilowsky
The author discusses the difficulties inherent in the role of the
psychiatrist in a pain clinic as well as some of the recurring problems
that he has seen in this setting. He states that the psychiatrist brings to
the understanding of pain a multidimensional approach, which is hard for
nonpsychiatrist clinicians to accept, and valuable psychophysical methods
for evaluating and quantifying pain. He discusses aspects of the interplay
between intrapsychic and interpersonal factors in the pain experience,
particularly the relationship between pain and guilt, and illustrates these
aspects with case reports.
