ABSTRACT
The patient with chronic pain presents a dilemma for physical as well as psychiatric health care. Occupational therapy is the health profession qualified to analyze occupational function and dysfunction for remedial action of chronic pain behavior. An occupational therapy approach based on the model of human occupation is described here. It is proposed as an appropriate treatment strategy for the short-term, acute-care chronic pain patient on a psychiatry service. Chronic pain negatively influences every aspect of life, producing an occupational dysfunction. In the patient with chronic pain, volition subsystem is characterized by decreased self-confidence, loss of normal goals and interests and lack of motivation. The occupational therapy program is part of the In-patient Pain Treatment Program, which is an individualized multidisciplinary service of the Division of Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital. The individualized chronic pain treatment program involves further assessment in specific occupational areas.
