Group therapy for chronic pain patients: A view of complexity

Small group therapy for chronic pain patients is becoming a well-established treatment option in pain treatment centres. Treatment is generally focused on changing patients' problematic behaviours, attitudes and feelings through various treatment modalities using the dynamics of a small group to evoke learning and change. There is a paucity of information, however, on the therapeutic process that occurs within a pain group during the course of treatment. This paper offers a practical view of group treatment which reflects the integration of four different models to illustrate how the various changes which occur in a pain therapy group can be viewed. An in-depth description of the development and dynamics in one group is presented. This comprehensive perspective is offered not only as a guide to beginning therapists, but also as a stimulus to developing therapeutic and methodological questions.