Psychiatry and Chronic Pain

Abstract

Pain and chronic pain have been defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain. Psychological mechanisms are recognized in the production of pain, but their importance has probably been overstated. Selection factors have not been attended to sufficiently, and traditional methods which have been relied upon for the diagnosis of hysterical pain have been misleading. Much emotional change seen with pain is a consequence of the physical disorder. Types of illness, seen by psychiatrists working with patients in pain, are described, and brief comments offered on their management.