Patient Self-Determination and Healing

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Jen Souders. She shares details of her approach to treating chronic pain which include: establishing a strong doctor patient relationship; understanding the patient’s beliefs and values; conducting motivational interviews; and focusing on helping patients build autonomy, competence and relatedness as part of their healing.  She also discusses how traditional medicine might improve its effectiveness in treating pain by encouraging physicians to develop stronger relationships with patients.

Jen Souders,M.D. was an anesthesiologist at the University of Washington for 20 years and then entered clinical practice as a pain specialist. She currently serves in a coaching capacity with chronic pain patients in Dr. Hanscom's weekly group sessions. In addition, she is the Medical Director for The Diet Doc LLC and a forensic consultant. Her interests include music and competitive power lifting where she holds several world records. Dr. Souders graduated from the University of Chicago Division of The Biological Sciences, The Pritzker School of Medicine in 1988.