Behavioral and Cognitive-Control Strategies in the Elimination of an 11-Year-Old Boy's Psychogenic Pain

Abstract

The present article describes a behavioral formulation and treatment in the case of an 11-year-old boy who developed intense leg and back pain subsequent to an athletic accident. Social reinforcement was provided for improved motor functions and reduced pain reports; and self-control strategies were used to counter the stigmatizing implications of the psychological diagnosis. Suggestions are offered for dealing with parental beliefs in the equation that “psychogenic symptom equals badness and stubborness.”

A case report of dissociative neurosis (depersonalization disorder) in an adolescent treated with family therapy and behavior modification.

“…Rather than attempt to do so, Jeannine was encouraged "to trust her own unconscious" by drawing an analogy to falling asleep, a kind of passive self-control (cf. Dollinger & Cotter, 1980). In this indirect way, Jeannine was helped to attribute therapeutic gains to herself, even though she employed no active self-control strategies.…”

Factors Affecting the Impact of Pain and Painful Experiences on the Exceptional Child

“…Patients with pain of organic etiology report less familial disturbance in childhood and fewer premorbid personality problems than the individual with nonorganic pain (Merskey 8c Boyd, 1978). Dollinger and Cotter (1980) report of an 11-year-old male child who sustained severe back pain subsequent to an athletic accident. The child's parents regarded the psychogenic symptoms as equivalent to badness and stubborness, thereby rendering symptom abatement resistant to initial treatment.…”