UT Southwestern Medical Center incorporates behavioral medicine as an integral part of our team approach to pain management. Patient outcomes show that treatments combining medical, rehabilitative and behavioral therapies often yield greater results than using a single approach.

Our Behavioral Medicine Program provides expert, compassionate care for patients experiencing all types of chronic pain. UT Southwestern’s psychologists assist patients in learning valuable strategies for reducing the intensity of their pain, alleviating emotional consequences of pain (i.e., stress, depression and anxiety), improving sleep and self-confidence.

UT Southwestern is one of the few pain management centers in Texas with onsite pain specialists, behavioral medicine specialists and physical therapists. Our program uses therapies and treatment plans derived from the latest scientific advances, incorporating individual cognitive-behavioral therapy, pain management classes, group therapy sessions and biofeedback, and relaxation instruction.

The involvement of outstanding clinicians in many disciplines allows UT Southwestern to remain at the forefront in the rapidly evolving field of interventional and non-interventional pain management. Our program combines state-of-the-art medical, behavioral and rehabilitative therapy designed to:

• Minimize physical and emotional suffering;
• Decrease or eliminate the disability caused by pain;
• Increase function despite pain;
• Eliminate excessive reliance on medication or ineffective therapies; and
• Accelerate a patient’s return to normal daily activities.

By learning advanced coping skills and other behavioral techniques to help control pain, our patients have achieved remarkable pain treatment outcomes.

Patients with pain-related psychological conditions can also be treated by our mental health service.