Discussion Podcast: Physical Therapist-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

As our understanding of the psychological aspects of pain has increased, physical therapist practice has moved from a model based largely on physiology, biomechanics, and anatomy toward a model that includes the patient's beliefs and emotions. In an article published recently in PTJ, Gwendolen Jull, Mandy Nielsen, and colleagues conducted a qualitative study on the delivery of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)—specifically pain coping skills training—by physical therapists from the clinician perspective. In this PTJ podcast, moderator Steven George and content expert Chris Main join Jull and Nielsen to discuss the key findings of the study, which Main calls a "hugely impressive paper." The group also delves into the role that physical therapists can play in delivering CBT, the training and education that physical therapists need to provide CBT, and the limits to psychologically based treatments that physical therapists can provide.