Barbara Alexander, LCSW, BCD, president of On Good Authority, interviews two pain management experts. Randall Busch, MD, describes some of the new techniques that are used to treat chronic pain. Kenneth Sharoff, PhD, outlines a cognitive coping skills approach to pain management.

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Subject Matter Experts:

Randall L. Busch, MD, who heads up the Midwest Center for Pain Management, is a well-known physician and former Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology and Director of the Center for Pain at Mercy Medical Center in Galena, Illinois, and at St. Mary's Duluth Clinic in Duluth, Minnesota. Dr. Busch is board-certified in anesthesiology, and his work with patients suffering from acute and chronic pain has been featured in numerous medical journals and recognized with honors from peers and the American Medical Association. Over the last 15 years, Dr. Busch has held numerous academic appointments, including Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in Duluth.

Kenneth Sharoff, PhD, is the author of the Coping Skills Manual for Treating Chronic and Terminal Illness, and its companion text, Coping Skills Therapy for Managing Chronic and Terminal Illness. Dr. Sharoff has been practicing psychotherapy for 30 years and is currently in private practice in Phoenix, MD. He received his PhD from the University of Maryland. Originator of cognitive coping therapy, his work has been reviewed as "the most important contribution in the development and maturing of cognitive behavior therapy in the past 20 years."

Interviewer:

Barbara Alexander, LCSW, BCD, is a graduate of the Smith College School for Social Work and the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Program of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. After working for 13 years in child psychiatric settings and 30 years in private practice, she is now founder and president of On Good Authority, and an expert interviewer.

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