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Professor Louise Sharpe
Professor of Clinical Psychology, Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
Professor Louise Sharpe is internationally known for her work in Health Psychology and has worked clinically with patients with a wide range of chronic physical problems, specializing in pain. She is Professor of Clinical Psychology at Sydney University. She has more than 25 years’ experience working as a Psychologist in Health Psychology and has over 138 peer-reviewed publications. She is the author of more than 15 randomized controlled trials, including many in chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis.
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| Abstracts Novel Interventions in Pain Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent medical conditions affecting 1 in 5 Australians. Indeed low back pain has the highest burden of all diseases for years lived with disability. Despite this, medical interventions (such as pain medication and surgery) are typically of limited value. In contrast, there are many randomized controlled trials that attest to the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for people with chronic pain. Meta-analyses have confirmed the efficacy of CBT, however, the effect sizes for CBT for pain are considerably smaller than those observed for depression or anxiety. While this is partly due to the heterogeneity of pain conditions, few experts would suggest that our current treatments (although effective) are optimal. In this keynote address, evidence for the efficacy of novel approaches to the management of pain conditions will be explored. These include novel interventions that are based on (1) theories of the development of chronic pain, such as in vivo exposure and attention bias modification; (2) interventions targeting factors that predict the outcome of intervention, such as motivational interviewing; and (3) novel approaches, such as mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy.
Obesity and Pain Management There are high levels of co-morbidity between obesity and chronic pain. The evidence suggests that the co-morbidity of obesity and chronic pain complicate the treatment of either condition in isolation. That is, patients whose weight falls in the obese range do more poorly in pain management; and clients seeking treatment for obesity who are also in chronic pain lose less weight than those clients seeking weight loss who are not in pain. Recent research suggests that patients with chronic pain whose weight falls in the obese range would benefit from some adaptation particularly to exercise regimes to increase adherence. While there is relatively little evidence that explores this relationship, it seems clear that an increase in physical activity is a central component of both weight loss programs and chronic pain management. The challenge remains to find a way to engage patients in a manner that promotes long-term adherence.
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