Jesse Glaub,
Regarding your patients who are unable to except the diagnosis…
I would help them to build an evidence sheet (we will talk more about this).
Teach them that DOUBT (in the mind-body diagnosis) = FEAR (because the opposite belief is you are broken) = PAIN (because fear is the fuel for the pain).
DOUBT = FEAR = PAIN
Suggest to them that in trying this new approach, they “have nothing to lose but you pain” – no side effects, no risks (like meds and surgery). What do they have to lose by trying it? They don’t have to believe fully right away, but if you can get them to invest enough to begin to see a little improvement, it can give them confidence, then that gives hope, which begins to turn off the danger signal, which improves the pain and pretty soon, you have an uphill snowball rolling !
Alicia Batson MD