Utilizing psychological assessment in rehabilitating patients with occupational musculoskeletal injuries

Patients with occupational musculoskeletal injuries who participate in multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs will likely undergo psychological assessment as a part of the evaluation process. Although the importance of examining non-physical influences on the patient's recovery is widely recognized among clinicians, it is often unclear how findings from psychological assessment are being utilized to facilitate rate of recovery from injury. The purpose of this study was to encourage a re-examination of current psychological assessment practices among multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs and to describe how the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) was utilized with a work-hardening patient sample (n = 86). For the overall patient sample, the MMPI-2 depicted relatively high levels of somatic focus and low levels of psychological distress. To enhance clinical utility, a clustering method identified profile groupings that were distinguishable on the basis of known personality and behavioral correlates. Two profile groupings (Scale 1; Scales 1-3/3-1) were discussed with recommendations for how clinicians may facilitate rate of recovery from injury. The MMPI-2 appears to be particularly useful in identifying treatment conditions that may favorably influence rate of recovery from occupational musculoskeletal injuries.