Whole Health for Veterans with Chronic Pain

By: Veterans Health Administration
  • Summary

  • Dr. Carol Bowman has worked with patients with chronic pain for over 10 years, and with Veterans for the past 6 years. In addition to Primary Care Internal Medicine training, Dr. Bowman studied and practiced holistic medicine for over 25 years and is certified in Integrative Pain Management. She learned that people can re-gain their lives and purpose through a holistic approach to medicine, and this created a passion to teach others a holistic approach to pain.
    This podcast series is based on the VA Whole Health model of care and the Circle of Health and was developed by the VA to provide education and tools for those suffering with chronic pain. If you have a pain program at your facility, this podcast can be used alongside your pain treatment to provide additional information and strategies for reaching your goals. If you do not have a pain program available to you, this series will give you skills and knowledge around self-care and complementary and integrative treatments that you can incorporate into your life to reduce the impact of chronic pain and improve your health and well-being.
    The podcasts are designed around the Circle of Health and how each area relates to chronic pain. We hope they inform and inspire you to make positive changes for yourself.
    Copyright Veterans Health Administration
    Show More Show Less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2
Episodes
  • Putting together the Pain Puzzle Pieces: The Big Picture of Chronic Pain Management
    Oct 23 2021
    Dr. Michael Hollifield and Dr. Ben Kligler discuss how to put all of this information together into a pain management approach that improves health and well-being. This includes topics such as how to talk with your provider, combining clinical care with acupuncture, chiropractic care, physical therapy, medications, and other approaches with self- care, having a team, developing a plan for flare-ups, and resilience and self -efficacy. We also consider how our community and society impacts Whole Health and chronic pain as well as the future of Whole Health and pain care in the VA. Social and Structural Determinants of Health are discussed as important underlying factors that contribute to health.
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Power of the Mind: Thinking Your Way to Healing
    Oct 13 2021
    In this episode, Dr. Katherine Bailey and Dr. Kaye Morgan explore the role of thought processes in pain management. People with chronic pain can have their thoughts hijacked by pain, and once pain takes your focus it is hard to think about anything other than the pain. We discuss how thoughts create emotions and physical sensations in the body, including how our fear of or anticipation of pain increases pain in the body. The good news is that if we can worry ourselves sick, we can imagine ourselves well. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other mind-body approaches are explored as solid evidence-based tools for chronic pain and suffering.
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • Spirit and Soul
    Sep 29 2021
    Growing and Connecting- Dr. Brown Johnson and Chaplain Cleaver join us in the podcast to discuss how spirit and soul can be an important part of healing from chronic pain. We discuss how this can be part of the clinical visit or even support providers in their work. We discuss how moral injury can be a factor in chronic pain and suffering and how this can be addressed and discussed. Often injuries in war are associated with seeing and doing things that go against our beliefs or moral code. It can be hard to release the pain without addressing shame and guilt and forgiveness. These are practices that can be cultivated and worked on with mental health providers, chaplains, and other spiritual advisors.
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins

What listeners say about Whole Health for Veterans with Chronic Pain

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.