Mention the word “pain,” and Peg Maude-Griffin is all ears. “Treating pain starts to alarm people who aren’t pain specialists. Everyone has this fear of causing an addiction. The issue is that they don’t understand how complex an addiction really is,” said Peg Maude-Griffin, Ph.D., “or that by under-treating someone in pain they are actually setting them up for additional psychological suffering.”
Psychologist Peg Maude-Griffin, the latest addition to the TCPC staff.
Maude-Griffin has focused her professional life on understanding the complexity of addictions and other emotional disorders beginning with her internship at San Francisco General Hospital. “The medical staff on the medical-surgical floors would consult with addiction specialists on how to treat pain in at-risk patients,” said Maude-Griffin, “The question was always how much pain medicine could be safely given without causing or worsening addictive behavior.” She later moved on to work as a clinical psychologist at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and taught psychology as an assistant professor at the University of Southern California-San Francisco Medical School. “These were great learning experiences,” said Maude-Griffin. “I taught seminars on substance abuse treatment, supervised therapists, and worked on a clinical trial for crack abusers.” The difficult issues clearly do not intimidate Maude-Griffin, who has developed a pain philosophy over her many years of experience.
“I believe that chronic pain is a biological, psychological and social problem. We need to look at the patient’s pain holistically and treat all three areas. When providers ask patients to consult with a psychologist they may feel they’re being told ‘it’s all in their head’. It’s not. Pain has a medical or organic cause, but the longer the pain endures, the more likely it is to negatively impact patients’ sense of well-being and their relationships with others. Talking with a psychologist, telling this person what is really happening in their life without censorship or worry can be very cathartic. And through these sessions, we can begin to identify skills to help the patient cope more effectively and move beyond their pain,” said Maude-Griffin. Acceptance, patience and persistence are important tenets she imparts to patients. In addition to her clinical sessions, Maude-Griffin will be developing a structured outpatient treatment program.
Maude-Griffin lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and two teenage children. In addition to spending time with her family, she enjoys reading, photography, needlework, and taking long walks with her two Australian Shepherds. |
Psychological counseling is not just for individuals with mental disorders or social problems. Having a good psychological counselor or therapist to rely on can make an enormous difference in the way an individual recovers from and copes with chronic pain.
A psychologist specializing in the treatment of pain patients deal with a number of factors that affect their patients’ well-being. Prescription medications and their addictive powers are of great concern to health professionals in the pain management field, and many doctors consult with psychologists specializing in addiction when they choose to treat chronic pain with medication. Incorporating the psychological factors related to addiction into treatment helps with the physical dependency that may come with treatment, but chronic pain has many other implications for the patient’s life that psychological counseling can help alleviate.
Many pain patients report additional physical problems that can aggravate their psychological condition. Sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, irritability, and mood problems can stem from chronic pain - and experiencing problems like these on a daily basis can in turn disturb the patient’s emotional well-being. The person may begin to feel isolated, alone, and may fight more than usual with loved ones due to mood control issues. Patients may also feel constant fear of the pain they experience. These experiences often make the social and family lives of a pain patient unsatisfactory.
Consulting with a psychotherapist can help patients cope with the “side effects” of their pain that cause psychological and behavioral issues. Treating these problems in addition to the pain helps patients recover more completely and leaves them in better physical and mental health. |
