title: We need to talk about psychological pain.
abstract: The author responds to Dr. Shattell's suggestion (Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 30(5), 2009) that it may be time to add psychic pain to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' pain management standard. Before we do so, some level of agreement is necessary on issues concerning terminology, measurement, and intervention. The author offers a definition of psychological pain as common ground for future research and development in clinical care.
authors.affiliation: University of California—San Francisco, School of Nursing, Department of Community Health Systems, 2 KoretWay, Suite N-505, San Francisco, CA 94143-0608, USA. esther.meerwijk@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Esther L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Meerwijk
mesh_terms: D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000451:nursing*; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010146:Pain / Q000451:nursing*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000451:nursing*