1. Lauren Preiss Texas Tech University Chronic Pain Management

2. Introduction
Hook: Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than 6 months or past the anticipated healing period. Thesis: Psychological treatments are the most effective methods because they give patients more control over their chronic pain and help improve pain, disability, and depression.

3. Psychological treatments give patients more control over their chronic pain.
Relaxation, activity planning, and thought challenging.
Kate Seers and Karin Friedli suggest that relaxation “could give patients more control over their chronic pain” (1165).
Patients can take an active role in managing their pain by taking mental control, while surgery and heavy medications give medical professionals more control than the patient.
Robert Sturgeon’s research shows that “Pain acceptance influences emotional functioning through two distinct mechanisms: a willingness to experience pain, which buffers against negative emotional reactions to pain, and continued engagement in valued activities despite the presence of pain, which bolsters positive emotions” (116).

4. Psychological treatments also improve pain, disability, and depression.
Michael Von Korff and Gregory Simon: Research shows that pain is strongly associated with anxiety and depressive disorders (Korff and Simon 101).
Nicholas et al.’s study requires patients to identify their goals in operational terms, which are regularly updated. Nicholas et al.’s research concludes that the new key finding was that practicing at least 4/5 of the proposed strategies, which include activity planning, goal setting, thought challenging, desensitization, and stretch exercises, during treatment was “associated with improvements in pain, disability, and depression” (101).
Robert Kugelmann’s findings show that negative thinking can keep a patient trapped inside the “circle of pain” (1667). Kugelmann demonstrates that a patient’s attitude and mental health has an impact on his or her chronic pain. For example, he quotes a part-time preacher saying, “Any time that I think negative, I’m stressed out, I’m not relaxed, I’m in pain.” (Kugelmann 1667).

5. Counterargument
Acknowledging: Some claim that surgery and medication are effective chronic pain treatments. For some patients, this may be the case.
Sigrid Fry-Revere and Elizabeth Do
Surgery and medication can be “quick fixes”, but have serious risks.
Risks: . Robert Gatchel et al.
Addiction and abuse
Misconception
In addition to potential addiction and abuse and misconception, medication and surgery are costly, complications can occur, and recovery time is required.
Because of these risks, chronic pain patients should use surgery and medication as their last resort.

6. Conclusion
The argument that surgery and medication are the most effective chronic pain treatments is illogical. If a chronic pain patient wants to gain more control over their pain and improve and even avoid more pain, disability, and depression, he or she should practice psychological methods. Psychological treatments promote a healthy and positive lifestyle. It is extremely important that patients should think about all the risks of surgery and medication. Psychological treatments are the key to successful pain management. They can be utilized by all chronic pain patients.

7. Works cited
Breen, Janice. “Transitions in the Concept of Chronic Pain.” Advances in Nursing Science (2002): EBSCOhost. Web. 28. Jul
Fry-Revere, Sigrid, Do, Elizabeth K. “A chronic problem: Pain management of non cancer pain in America.” Journal of Health Care Law & Policy 16 (2013): EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Jul
Gatchel, Robert J., et al. “Interdisciplinary Chronic Pain Management.” American Psychologist 69.2 (2014): EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Jul
Korff, Michael Von; Simon, Gregory. “The Relationship Between Pain and Depression.” The British Journal of Psychiatry (1996): EBSCOhost. Web. 27 Jul
Kugelmann, Robert. “Complaining about chronic pain.” Social Science & Medicine (1999): EBSCOhost. Web. 13 Jun
Nicholas, Michael, et al. “Is adherence to pain self-management strategies associated with improved pain, depression and disability in those with disabling chronic pain?” European Journal of Pain 16 (2011): EBSCOhost. Web. 14 Jun
Seers, Kate, Friedli, Karen. “The patient’s experiences of their chronic non-malignant pain.” Journal of Advanced Nursing 24.6 (1996): EBSCOhost. Web. 13 Jun
Sturgeon, John A. “Psychological therapies for the management of chronic pain.” Dove Press Journal: Psychology Research and Behavior Management 7 (2014): EBSCOhost. Web. 19 Jul