The experience of chronic pain and pain beliefs
Hanife Özlem Sertel Berk1, Güler Bahadır2
1Faculty Of Letters, Department Of Psychology, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
2İstanbul Faculty Of Medicine, Department Of Psychiatry, İstanbul University, İstanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Experience of Chronic Pain, Reformulated Cognitive Behavioral Model, Pain Beliefs
Abstract
Chronic pain is well appreciated as a universal problem in the sense that it causes serious impairment in the individuals’ physical and psychosocial status of functioning. Research, psychological assesment and psychotherapeutic process towards chronic pain is most frequently based on the principles of cognitive-behavioral approach (CBA). However, Sharp criticised CBA for its ongoing dependency on the operant premises of the pure behavioral approach and proposed a “reformulated CBA” where the emphasis is on specific cognitive factors, primarily the pain beliefs.
According to current studies in chronic pain, it is becoming increasingly apparent that pain beliefs play an important role in the maintainance and management of chronic pain. In Turkey, there are no studies and tools on pain beliefs. In this specific review, the literature on pain beliefs is discussed in terms of necessity of research and material development on pain beliefs that tab factors specific to Turkish culture.