DCoE February Webinar: Chronic Pain

By DCoE Public Affairs
February 21, 2013

Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) will host its next webinar, “Chronic Pain: The Biopsychosocial Approach," from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (EST) Feb. 28.  

Chronic pain is a risk factor in suicide and has been associated with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. It continues to pose a troublesome health care challenge. In the past, medical professionals examined the body’s biology in order to identify and relieve chronic pain. However, the focus has shifted to a biopsychosocial approach, which also incorporates psychological and social factors. 

The main goal of chronic pain relief is to return injured service members to duty and to reintegrate them back into society as close as possible to their pre-deployment condition.

This webinar will:

• Provide an overview of the prevalence and types of chronic pain
• Examine the biopsychosocial approach
• Review the assessment, treatment and management of chronic pain
• Discuss the challenges of working with patients with chronic pain

Featured speakers are:  

• Col. Steven P. Cohen, M.D.
  Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Division of Pain Management, medical education and quality assurance director, and  Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine professor; Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, chronic pain research director; Surgeon General of the United States Army reserve liaison and pain management consultant
   
• Robert D. Kerns, Ph.D.
  Yale University, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Psychology professor;  Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), National Pain Management Program director; VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Pain Research, Informatics, Medical comorbidities and Education Center (PRIME) director

All professionals who care for service members are encouraged to attend, including service members and their families. You may register now or review further information.

Continuing education credit is available from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. The awarding of continuing education credit is limited in scope to health care providers who actively provide psychological health and traumatic brain injury care to active-duty service members, reservists, National Guardsmen, military veterans and/or their families.

Contracted companies are responsible for their employee development and training. Contractors should review their respective scope of work or personnel qualification guidelines to ensure they meet minimum requirements. The authority for training of contractors is at the discretion of the chief contracting official. Currently, only those contractors with a relevant scope of work or with commensurate contract language are permitted in this training.

You must register in advance using the Adobe Connect platform.

Please NOTE: Registration will close at 11:59 p.m. (EST) Feb. 26. Register before the deadline to be eligible to receive continuing education credit for attending this webinar.

Upcoming 2013 webinars: 

• March 28 — Vestibular Disturbances After Mild TBI
• April 25 — Military Children and Coping with Grief and Loss

Follow us on Twitter@DCoEPage during the 2013 webinars for live tweeting. Use #DCoEWebinar to join the conversation.

News Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury , treatment , Depression , psychological health