Keynote
Using Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy for “dug in” chronic pain:
A new direction
Joanne Dahl, PhD
Fundamental questions of life are typically
questions of values. When you, those around you,
and/or your patients get stuck in chronic pain
problems, valued life choices and directions often
get put on hold. Typically this sounds like: “If I
could just get this pain problem solved, I could
start living again.” If pain was in the external world,
like getting your house painted, this might be
accomplished. Human beings are superior
problem solvers. But when we try using the same
problem solving strategies to deal with internal
events such as pain, anxiety or any unacceptable
feeling, we create suffering for ourselves. Without
our valued life directions to guide our behavior, we
often end up putting all our energy in hopeless
and endless struggles to solve the unsolvable.
Chronic pain is an unsolvable problem. Identifying
valued directions and using this values context as
a constant reference is a powerful means to start
living beyond your pain. Using mindfulness or
meditation practice to go into pain, rather than
avoiding it, creates an entirely different relationship
to the pain experience. Acceptance rather than
control of pain creates liberation from suffering.