Guest Editorial: Psychologists as Primary Care Providers
by Ron Lechnyr, PhD, DSW, and Terri Lechnyr, PhD
 Psychological treatment for chronic pain problems is not new to the
practice of pain management. Many of the major Pain Treatment Centers have a long history
of employing psychologists as part of a multi-disciplinary team of professionals with a
focus on helping patients to learn active behavioral pain management skills. Some of the
early Pain Centers were started by psychologists and the early literature focused on the
importance of behavioral approaches to pain and associated issues. However, this is rarely
acknowledged in the pain literature as the majority of publications in recent years have
focused on the use of medications for the treatment of pain problems. While pain
medication is important in the treatment of chronic pain, it is only one aspect of the
entirety of care for chronic pain patients. Further, many believe the simplistic notion
that the psychologist’s role in the treatment of pain problems is to
“convince” the patient that their pain problems are “all in their
head” and therefore not real. Nothing could be further from the truth and reality in
the care of chronic pain patients.
As psychologists, we are presently assessing how our training and skills sets us apart
from other mental health providers and what is unique to the training of Doctors of
Psychology. This reassessment comes at a time when the health care market is changing and
calling for innovation and integration of all health care services.
Common Misconceptions of Psychologist’s Role
The perception of the psychology profession by the lay public, insurers, and other
professionals, is still mistaken in the belief that psychology and psychotherapy are a
part of the psychoanalytic and disease model. This allows others to define the limits of
Doctors of Psychology to a narrow focus of only dealing with diagnosed mental and
emotional disorders, thus blurring the distinction between psychologists and other
lesser-trained mental health professions. Further, the majority of medically-trained
psychiatrists has been limited and focused on the specific provision of psychotropic
medications. Nevertheless, there is a critical shortage in the number and availability of
psychiatrists even for managing these psychopharmacology issues.
Please refer to the March 2010 issue for the complete text. In the event you need to order a back issue, please click here.
— March 2010
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