International researchers convene in Montreal for symposium on the social effects of chronic pain

Pain is a physical sensation that varies in intensity from person to person. It is a highly subjective and individual experience that is felt differently, expressed differently and has different effects on each person. It can be debilitating and have a significant impact on relationships and social participation. What are the factors that create these differences and can they be understood in order to improve the treatment and quality of life of those living with a chronic pain condition?

These are some of the questions that will be addressed by international researchers during a day-long symposium on Pain, Relationships and Communication hosted at the Constance-Lethbridge Rehabilitation Centre (CLRC) on Friday, May 15th, 2009.

The symposium is a rare opportunity for these renowned specialists on the psychology of pain to come together to exchange knowledge on research, identify common trends and discuss the impact of chronic pain on interpersonal relationships.

The researchers will gather at the CLRC, a multi-faceted rehabilitation centre in the NDG/Côtes-des-Neiges Borough of Montreal, whose mission is to support the social re-integration of those with physical and/or speech and language disabilities. The centre is home to two state-of the-art chronic pain research laboratories, including one headed by Dr Michael Sullivan, one of the participants in the symposium. As a venue, it will showcase some of the advances in chronic pain research taking place right here in Montreal.

The symposium’s participants include:

Dr Annemarie Cano, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan). She is researching the interaction between couples in situations where there is pain-related emotional distress in one partner.

Dr Geert Crombez, Ph.D., Professor of Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University (Belgium). His research is focused on learning, emotion, attention and self-regulation in relation to pain.

Dr Ken Craig, Director of the Health Research Resource Office, Chair of the Behavioural Research Ethics Board, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of British Columbia. He is investigating the origins of individual differences in pain, including social determinants of pain experience and expression, assessment of pain in infants, children and others with communication limitations, and how pain has adapted in humans as social beings.

Dr Steve Duck, Daniel and Amy Starch Distinguished Research Chair, Department of

Communication Studies, University of Iowa. Dr Duck is an expert on the links between communication and relationships.

Dr Liesbet Goubert, Assistant Professor of Health Psychology, Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University (Belgium). Her main research interest is the effects of observing others in pain and how that impacts empathic responses and observational learning processes.

Dr Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, Professor of Clinical Psychology, RBC Senior Research Fellow, Director of the Centre on Aging and Health, University of Regina. His studies examine pain assessment and management among seniors who have severe limitations in ability to communicate because of dementia.

Dr Philip Jackson, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Psychology, Université Laval. His area of study is centred on deficits in empathy in relation to brain function.

Dr Jeffrey S. Mogil, E.P. Taylor Professor of Pain Studies, Canada Research Chair in the Genetics of Pain, McGill University. His research investigates the variability in the experience of pain and potential genetic connections.

Dr Michael Sullivan, Professor of Psychology and Medicine, McGill University. He is known primarily for his research on the relation between catastrophic thinking and pain experience, and for the development of community-based approaches to the management of pain-related disability.

Dr Tine Vorvoort, Post-Doctoral Researcher of the Fund for Scientific Research, Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University (Belgium). She is studying the effects of parental responses to a child’s pain and the impact of these reactions.

Dr. Amanda Williams, Reader in Clinical Health Psychology, University College London, Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the pain service, University College London Hospitals (Great Britain). Her work includes research on chronic pain in survivors of war, torture and organized violence, and applying evolutionary theory to pain.