Chronic back pain and migraine headaches plague millions of North Americans. Over the past twenty years these and other forms of chronic benign pain have been recognized as serious afflictions that affect a significant segment of the adult population. Researchers have investigated the various medical and psychological aspects of chronic benign pain; now Ranjan Roy adds a critical new dimension with study of the social forces that determine the lives of these patients and their responses to their condition.

The effects of chronic pain on a patient's social system can be devastating. Roy discusses the extent to which the negative consequences can be reduced, even if the pain itself remains impervious to treatment. He considers a range of interventions that can significantly modify the negative effects of chronic pain, and discusses some of these in detail to enable clinicians to implement them.

RANJAN ROY is a Professor in the Faculty of Social Work and the Department of Clinical Health Psychology, University of Manitoba. He is also Consultant (Scientific) in the Department of Anaesthesiology, St Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg.

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