Crisis Knocks

Interesting post. But let's not get into "blame the victim" territory here, which I fear could be the logical conclusion.

First, there's no empirical evidence I'm aware of that 95% of chronic pain is pyschosomatic. Maybe fifty percent. Maybe thirty percent. Maybe twenty percent. But 95%? Please. I defy you to go into a room of people suffering from serious rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's, diverticulosis, ulcerative colitis, etc. and tell them that 95% of their pain is psychosomatic. You will be laughed out of the room.

Second, you wrote...

"People sometimes improve rapidly even just from reading about the diagnosis and the possibility that their problem is not something they'll have to "suffer from" or "live with" the rest of their lives. Seeing a medical doctor who can make a reassuring, clear diagnosis is a huge added bonus. For some, studying the materials at home, after a diagnosis, is all they need. For others, psychotherapy with a therapist familiar with this work is an important component of healing."

And for others? Even if they did these things, if they are suffering from the above conditions or others, pain is going to be an ongoing reality in their lives. I've seen it in loved ones, I've seen it in friends, I've seen it in strangers. There but for the grace of God go we.

I would note that the author of this article was quoting me, quoting Dr. Sarno, when Dr. Sarno stated to me "95% of pain is psychosomatic"; it was not a direct quote of my own statistics or conclusions. However, in the broader sense, whatever the percentage is (and there is no study that attempts to answer this question), the mind/brain/nervous system is a huge factor in pain, even that deemed to have a structural cause. Depression certainly exacerbates pain, anxiety certainly does, and therefore emotional/brain chemistry changes affect pain.
In my own clinical experience of 20+ years, and my own published data, I am able to help people with chronic pain by a mind-body healing program that focuses on changing perception and changing belief, while uncovering emotions. This doesn't mean everyone can be helped, but the data and the experience of thousands speaks to the fact that many can be helped, including many who previously would not have been open to this diagnosis or connection.

I believe that psychological treatment can help pain of all kinds.

I also believe that the 95% statistic is way too high considering the prevalence of medically-based pain conditions in the US. What do you believe the real percentage is?

I would be interested to know what psychological treatments you would give to two patients: one with severe arthritis and one with pain that was psychosomatic.

Thank you.

The 95% statistic implies that psychosomatic symptoms and physcial illness are entirely separate when actually there is a constant interaction between the mind and body. Even when the external cause is quite obvious, the way our body responds and whether symptoms of disease present will depend vary according the mind body state. An angry resnetful caharacter is probably more susceptible to an helicobacter pylori gastritis than another who is at peace with himself. However, when symptoms develop with no obviuos external cause (limb and back pain often mislabelled as "infection"), even when the pain is real and tests show non specific positive findings, one can assume that many of us express our negative emotional baggage, anger and resentment through a more "acceptable" medicalized way. Educating patients to this option allows them to become open to a new strategy, that they might have been "barking up the wrong tree". Being "aware" of accumulated anger is more than half the treatment of psychosomatic illness.

I was hoping for some new information for dealing with chronic pain with obvious physical origin.
I have been on a variety of painkillers for almost a decade now. I have a fairly mild case of spina bifida with associated physical manifestations, and had several surgeries on one foot as a child. This led to muscular deficiencies which accentuated problems arising from oddities in my gait. As I aged, I basically "wore out" one knee joint, and I lack the musculature to support a replacement joint. I also have severe osteoarthritis in several joints, and a shoulder that was surgically rebuilt after an accident.
Things all came to a head about 8 years ago, when the pain of getting through my daily life became too great to deal with. I was employed full time at that point, but was forced to apply for Social Security Disability. As an indication of the severity of my condition, I was approved for SSDI right off the bat, first try. I had the distinct impression that the doctors who examined me were pleased to deal with an applicant whose physical condition so unequivocally qualified for approval.
I would like nothing better than to be able to give up the heavy-duty painkillers that dull my mind and senses.

I have to wonder if Will Baum has some type of financial relationship with Schechter (Schechter refers patients to a number of different psychotherapists as part of his Mind/Body racket) because this fawning piece is in total contrast to my experience with him as a patient. The following is a review I wrote on Yelp based on my experiences. Certainly not the same doctor described in this piece:

I have a feeling that either Dr. Schechter or someone he has hired wrote the positive reviews on this site, because I found my experience to be the exact opposite. On a scale of 1-10, his bedside manner would rate a zero. He is perfunctory, rude, dismissive and a generally unpleasant person. He will ask you questions and then cut you off before you can finish answering. If the symptoms you describe don't fit his diagnosis (which seems to change on every visit) he will dismiss you with a curt comment. Based on his behavior, it appears he suffers from a gargantuan inferiority complex, and compensates for this by treating you as if you're the stupidest person he has ever met . He also treats his staff rather rudely, which actually makes you embarrassed for him because he makes such a fool of himself. This guy is only interested in how much money he can make off of you and the ego inflation he gets from treating his patients like morons. Steer clear of this jerk.