Maintaining therapeutic relationships with patients

All healthcare providers involved in chronic pain management must develop the skills to build empathetic relationships with patients and set therapeutic boundaries. Empathy helps to maintain patient engagement and boundaries limit ineffective investigations, referrals and treatments. If necessary, a clinician can redirect a patient to evidence-based care if they have a good therapeutic relationship with the patient.

Many patients with chronic pain feel disenfranchised and rejected by their healthcare providers, families, work colleagues and the community. An important aspect of management is to validate and destigmatise the pain, and assist patients to build positive support networks among clinicians, family and the community.