Welcome to the continuing series Why You Should See a Pain Management Psychiatrist.  This week we’ll look at how you might benefit from a pain support group.

For many years, I’ve run 8-week Coping with Pain support groups.  These sessions are divided into 4 sessions of skill-building, where the focus is learning exercises such as relaxation and visualization.  The other 4 weeks are discussions focusing on issues related to living with chronic pain, such as positive coping techniques and dealing with a decrease in independence.

As long as a patient can benefit from the group and participate appropriately, I encourage them to attend a series.  Some patients find them so helpful, they attend more than 1 series.

What are the benefits of these types of groups?

1. Decrease isolation
Many people with pain lose the social contacts of work, and are able to do less with friends and family.  Pain can be very isolating.  Groups can increase your socialization.

As well, specifically related to pain, groups can help people realize they aren’t the only ones with significant pain.  This is especially important for lesser-known diseases such as CRPS.  Groups can help you feel less isolated.

2. Problem-solve with others
Each person in a group knows ways to cope with pain.  Sharing these can help others, and group members benefit from things others have learned.  There’s less “re-inventing the wheel” when you can use the experiences of others.

3. Help others
Patients with pain often do less – at work, at home, hobbies, etc.  They become the “help-ee” rather than the “help-er.”  While it’s good to learn to be in both these roles, patients are mostly on the receiving end of assistance.  Helping others in support groups lets patients have more balance between helping and being helped.  Helping others often increases self-esteem.

4. Expand support networks
As we said above, pain can be isolating.  Adding new people to your support network can be good for you, to have other people to rely on.  As well, this can lessen the load of those already in your support network, who may sometimes feel overburdened from the impact of your chronic illness.

5. Share resources
Living with chronic pain often means living with limitations and challenges – living a new type of life.  Sharing resources, information, and tricks and tips is an advantage of a group.

One important challenge of any group is to keep it focused on coping with pain.  Groups should not settle into complaining, focusing on pain, or focusing on whose pain is worse.

Readers, if you’ve attended a group, what’s been your experience?

Other articles in this series:

1. Why comprehensive treatment works better
2. Benefits of a psychiatric evaluation
3. Treatment of psychiatric symptoms
4. Using psychiatric medications for pain
5. Learning psychological skills
6. Making positive behavioral changes
7. Making positive psychological changes
8. Benefits of supportive therapy
9. Benefits of a pain support group
10. New brain-based treatments