The psychiatrist and the pain clinic

Abstract

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.