Are there predictor variables for who does well with the NeuroBehavioral Programs approach?
A. A review of predictor variables in research on pain management indicates that general anxiety or fearfulness and external locus of control tend to diminish patient initiative, treatment compliance, and consequent treatment outcomes. Behavioral medicine and the NeuroBehavioral Programs approach are patient-driven. The patient, not medicine, is the agent of relief. Patient follow-through is expected in logging results and phoning the NeuroBehavioral Programs practitioner if home results vary from those obtained in regular treatment sessions. Patients must be motivated to feel better so that the planning, initiative, and effort necessary for the program to be successful can take place. Interestingly, injured patients often become externally focused due to stress and will quickly reestablish a more internal locus of control when they experience success in reducing the noxious quality of the symptom. A simple diagnostic tool for assessing a patient’s level of motivation to become better
