Chronic Pain and Mental Health Counselor Education

Thursday, November 10, 2022

9:45 AM – 10:45 AM

Location: VIrtual Recording

Presenting Author(s)

Steven D. Wodzinski, PhD, LMHC, CRC, BC-TMH, CAP, NCC (he/him/his)

Licensed Mental Health Counselor
University of the Cumberlands
Tampa, Florida, United States

Non-presenting Author(s)

Christina Dillahunt-Aspillaga, PhD, CRC, CVE, CLCP, CBIST, ICVE,-D, IPEC, FACRM

Professor
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida, United States
AR

Amber L. Randolph, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

Associate Professor
University of the Cumberlands
Bartlett, IL 60103, Illinois, United States
LS

Laura M. Schmuldt, Ph.D., LMHCA, NCC

Associate Professor
University of the Cumberlands
Kure Beach, North Carolina, United States

Research

Objectives: To investigate the lived experiences of licensed counselors who have treated clients with chronic pain and co-morbid mental health disorders. To explore how education about chronic pain affects licensed counselors’ treatment of chronic pain clients.
To assess the current state of chronic pain education in the counseling profession.

Design: Transcendental, phenomenological qualitative study.

Setting: Licensed counselors’ private practices.

Participants: Licensed counselors within the United States who have treated or are treating clients with comorbid chronic pain and mental health disorders. Purposeful and snowball sampling were used (N = 12).

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measure: The lived experiences of licensed counselors who have treated or are currently treating clients with chronic pain and comorbid mental health disorders.

Results: Results demonstrate that clients with chronic pain had co-morbid affective, trauma-related, and substance use disorders. All clients experienced stigma and needed empathy. Pain neuroscience education and a wellness model were the most used treatments. Opioids were not commonly prescribed, and clients were challenging to treat. Variety and self-care mitigated participant stress and most participants had chronic pain.

Conclusions: The study showed that more education on chronic pain is needed, and licensed counselors were eager to obtain it. Substance use disorders were rare perhaps because there were no agency settings. Few participants knew of pain-specific treatment modalities. Participants felt opioid prescription has declined due to a lack of education for prescribers, liability issues, and an increased awareness that opioids are not first-line treatment. The clients were difficult and physically exhausting to treat because of the complexity of chronic pain. Treating a variety of client populations and good participant self-care prevented burnout. Participant motivation to treat this population was partially because of their own chronic pain experience.

Author(s) Disclosures: There are no conflicts of interest for the authors and the non-presenting contributors.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion, participants will be able to identify co-morbid mental disorders present in clients with chronic pain and the most effective treatment approach.
Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the current state of chronic pain education for licensed counselors based on their report and the modalities in which they are trained.
Upon completion, participants will be able to recognize the level of rigor to treat chronic pain clients and strategies licensed counselors use to prevent burnout.