The Role of Psychological Skills within Physiotherapy

Psychological principles have application to all spheres of physiotherapy rehabilitation, especially for physiotherapists working in the chronic pain field. They support the need for an integrated approach (physical, psychological, and psychopathological) that takes into account the subjective experience of the single patient. Problems can arise with very anxious patients, those who appear to have little ‘motivation’ for making changes, dropping off in improvement after discharge from rehabilitation, and seeking further referral. For that reason, the contribution of diagnostic material such as the use of M.M.P.I., could become a useful method in the evaluation of psychogenic factors in patients as well as in the understanding of patients’ pain coping behaviors. The development of therapeutic interventions should be able to fuse different perspectives into a tailor-made interdisciplinary management approach in a single patient and the development of a quality body of research on the topic are future challenges in order to improve the subjective well-being of patients with chronic pain and psychopathological signs and symptoms.