ABSTRACT
The past 20 years have seen significant advances in the development of effective medical, psychological, rehabilitative, and multimodal approaches to the management of chronic pain (cf. Cohen & Campbell, 1996). In the psychological domain alone, well-controlled studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of a broad array of treatment approaches (Gatchel & Turk, 1996). Despite a growing body of research that encourages optimism in the ability to provide relief for individuals suffering from chronic pain and associated disability and distress, it is also clear that there are many individuals who fail to be successfully engaged in these treatments, or who relapse (Turk & Rudy, 1991). Jensen (1996), in particular, has noted that there are many possible explanations for these shortcomings. Motivation to engage in treatment and adherence to treatment recommendations and prescriptions are factors that have been particularly highlighted in discussions of this issue (Turk, Meichenbaum, & Genest, 1983).
