A full life despite pain -- that's the goal of psychological help for patients experiencing chronic pain.

 Beth Dinoff, PhD, clinical associate professor, Department of Anesthesia

Kelly Teuscher of Davenport, Iowa, has suffered from chronic pain -- migraine, back pain, arthritis, Crohn's disease, and diabetic gastritis -- for years, and various treatments brought little relief. But after just four visits with Beth Dinoff, PhD, a clinical psychologist in the Department of Anesthesia's Pain Management Clinic, she began to feel better. Dinoff introduced Teuscher to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which helps patients with chronic pain experience their pain differently. Teuscher and Dinoff were recently featured in an article for Practical Pain Management, an online resource for clinicians and consumers on evidence-based therapies.