Editor’s note: This seminar is the latest event in a series of seminars launched in May 2020 to help keep the pain research community connected during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide all members of our community with virtual educational opportunities. The seminar series is supported by the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, US.
The IASP Pain Research Forum hosted a seminar with Claire Ashton-James, PhD, University of Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, February 18, 2021, from 6-7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (US)/Friday, February 19, 2021, from 10-11 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). A Q&A session moderated by Jessica Chen, PhD, University of Washington, Seattle, US, followed the presentation.
A recording of the event is available on the IASP Pain Education Resource Center (PERC) here.
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Here is an abstract from the presenter
Pain is an unpleasant experience associated with variable levels of emotional distress. For clinicians who work in pain management, exposure to patient distress is inevitable. It is crucial that clinicians recognize and respond to patient distress – negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and hopelessness shape patients’ experiences and expectations of care, and can disrupt patient engagement in shared decision-making and deter adherence to treatment advice. Despite the potential for patient distress to derail pain management outcomes, many clinicians are not equipped with skills to identify and respond to patients' negative emotions. In this virtual seminar, Dr. Ashton-James will present evidence-based strategies for identifying and responding to patient distress in a manner that builds trust and empowers patients to participate more collaboratively in their care.
About the presenter
Claire Ashton-James, PhD (social psychology), is an associate professor of pain management at The University of Sydney. Her research investigates the role of patient-provider interactions and emotions in pain management. Dr. Ashton-James is the founding chair of IASP’s Social Aspects of Pain Special Interest Group, and is a passionate advocate for greater research and clinical attention to social processes and social outcomes in pain management. As a clinician coach specializing in patient-provider communication and clinician well-being, Dr. Ashton-James partners with clinicians from all disciplines of medicine and allied health to empower clinicians with the confidence and skills to effectively navigate emotionally challenging patient encounters.
About the moderator
Jessica Chen, PhD, is assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington, and staff psychologist at VA Puget Sound-Seattle in the Pain Medicine Functional Restoration Center. Her research is focused on social determinants of health and the implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for chronic pain and PTSD. She has led multiple studies focused on increasing access to evidence-based psychotherapies in integrated care settings (e.g., primary care, specialty medicine) and over telehealth. Her currently funded projects leverage the VA’s national healthcare system data to examine disparities in access to telehealth-based treatments for chronic pain and co-occurring opioid use disorder.
Join the conversation about the seminar on Twitter @PainResForum #PRFSeminar
We thank the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, US, for its support of the PRF seminar series.
