Pain management 2: the use of pyschological approaches to pain

This article is the second of a two-part series looking at the psychological and social factors which affect pain perception. The first article (Vol 10(14): 903-11) examined neurophysiological and psychological factors of pain perception. This article considers the importance of the nurse-patient interaction in the management of patients' pain. It outlines the adoption of several psychological approaches which could be utilized by nurses when dealing with patients in pain. The need to encourage a feeling of control over pain is discussed in relation to the use of patient-controlled analgesia and the development of positive coping skills. The value of good communication skills is emphasized as being essential in encouraging patients in pain to utilize these psychological approaches.