Behavioral medicine services are offered at Pain Consultants of East Tennessee by Behavioral Medicine Institute, P.C., a private practice group of psychologists and licensed clinical social workers who specialize in helping people with health-related problems. In 2000 Behavioral Medicine Institute, P.C. (BMI) opened an office inside of Pain Consultants of East Tennessee to make it easier for patients to get behavioral medicine services and to work closely with their medical specialists. It is a unique arrangement that gives patients a multi-disciplinary treatment approach to their pain.

“Behavioral medicine” is a name for psychology and psychotherapy services offered to people with health issues such as chronic pain. People are not referred for behavioral medicine because their physician thinks they are “crazy or that their pain is “not real pain” or “all in their head.” Behavioral medicine helps people deal with their chronic pain. We offer practical ways to help people reduce their pain, how to cope with their pain, and how not to let the pain overwhelm them. We also help the physicians and practitioners at Pain Consultants of East Tennessee to assess and understand their patients so they can help them better. Specifically, psychology conducts “risk assessment” on all patients before narcotic pain medication is prescribed. This does not say which patients can have narcotics and who can’t, but risk assessment helps Pain Consultants staff know where to start with pain medications. We do not want to cause more harm or other problems in our treatment, and risk assessment helps Pain Consultants make informed treatment choices to maximize the chance of improved outcomes.

Ted Jones, Ph.D. is the clinical psychologist from BMI that works with Pain Consultants. He has been a licensed clinical psychologist since 1982 and has much experience to bring his patients. He has published in national professional journals several times about his work. He has also given workshops on a national level about risk assessment and on ways to help patients with their pain.

Most medical problems are best treated with some combination of interventional treatments (such as surgeries and injections), pharmacological treatments (medications), and changes patients can make for themselves (lifestyle changes). We have found that in the field of chronic pain there are five essential skills patients need to best deal with their pain. One service Pain Consultants of East Tennessee offers to patients is a unique single group session that teaches patients these five essential skills. By offering an introduction to the five core skills in a single session rather than in a multi-week format, we save patients time and money while giving them the highest quality service. Follow-up surveys about this group find that it is very well-received and in fact 97% of all patients surveyed recommend this session for other pain patients.

You can learn more about Behavioral Medicine Institute, P.C. by clicking on the following link: www.bmipc.com.