Have you ever heard of anesthesiologists who hypnotize patients so they can undergo surgery without anesthesia?

These patients do not suffer from emotional disorders, yet hypnosis can completely eliminate pain to the extent that a patient can undergo surgery without anesthesia.

This is an excellent example of psychological treatment for pain, even if there is no mental problem. It’s a drug-free treatment without any associated side effects.

How much more so in the case of an emotional/mental component in chronic pain. It’s very human to despair from chronic pain, which significantly interferes with the quality of life. Since this mental component can perpetuate the pain, it is quite important in some cases to also address it. There are a variety of emotional therapies that can treat chronic pain. There are psychologists who specifically specialize in pain treatment and use various treatments, such as hypnosis, cognitive-behavioral therapy, other methods like mindfulness, and more.

Patients often discover the connection between emotion and pain. Treatment can make the emotional component dormant in the brain, such that it arouses less of the emotional pathways that are shared with the pain pathways.

Dr. Wende does not perform these treatments, but refers to the best therapists in these fields.