title: Preparing patients for invasive medical and surgical procedures. 1: Adding behavioral and cognitive interventions.
abstract: The authors of three related articles look at various aspects of preparing adult and child patients psychologically for invasive surgical procedures. The first article is a review of the literature in the field, primarily from the last 30 years. Researchers have examined anxiety and coping mechanisms, patient-practitioner relationships, medical phobias, and the effectiveness of different types of psychological intervention. In the second article, the authors offer practical suggestions for implementing preparatory psychological interventions, describing effective communication techniques such as active listening, role plays, imaging, modeling, and progressive relaxation. In the final article in the series, the author considers policy, practice, and educational implications of the use of behavioral and cognitive interventions for patients, medical practitioners, and healthcare planners.
authors.affiliation: Royal Melbourne Hospital Medical Psychology Unit, School of Behavioural Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Horne
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vatmanidis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Careri
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011300:Preoperative Care; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000523:psychology*