Chronic Pain and Family A Clinical Perspective [Paperback]

Chronic pain affects every facet of a patients life, and nowhere is this more evident than in the complex arena of family life. Chronic Pain and Family: a Clinical Perspective examines typical family issues associated with prolonged illness, offering realistic ways to approach them in therapy.

Informed by current practice and his own experience, noted author/clinician Ranjan Roy brings fresh insights to common pain scenarios and therapeutic impasses, and provides a framework for assessing marital and family relationships when chronic pain is a defining factor. Clinicians will get not only a clearer understanding of sensitive issues, but also effective strategies for engaging clients without turning them off.

Coverage includes:

- Meanings of pain in relationships

- Who Does What? : exploring changes in family roles

- Resistance to treatment: why it occurs and how to work through it

- Health concerns and other burdens on well spouses and children

- Sexuality, domestic abuse, and other silent issues

- Case examples demonstrating therapy step-by-step with a range of couples and families

For therapists and social workers who deal with this growing population of patients, Chronic Pain and Family: A Clinical Perspective stands at a unique intersection of pain/disability and family resources. Roys recognition of the familys changing demographics together with his synthesis of clinical knowledge make the book suitable for graduate-level courses as well.

Over the past two decades attention to family issues in relation to chronic pain has been on the rise. There has been a proliferation of research and clinical literature in the field since the first major review on this topic was conducted in 1982. However, no comprehensive review book has been pulÔ