Patient Doctor Communication

white doctor with arms folded

New Research Study Finds Everything is Connected, As Many Patients Suspected

A wake-up call to the medical community sent directly with data from commercial health insurers A new study focused on the prevalence of multisystem diagnoses among hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) patients sheds light on a critical aspect of this complex condition: the widespread systemic impact it has on the body and the connection to other […]

patient on virtual appointment with doctor or nurse

Part Six: Dear Doctor: How To Avoid Causing Clinician-Associated Trauma

This is the sixth and last article in the clinician-associated trauma series. Soon, all six articles will be released in a downloadable e-book available at Chronic Pain Partners’ website. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment below or email the author of the series at kate [at] chronicpainpartners [dot] […]

a person touching a woman s eye with a bruise

Part 5: Healing the Hurt: How To Handle Clinician-Associated Trauma

Over the past several months, Chronic Pain Partners has published a series of articles about clinician-associated trauma based on the paper “Clinician-associated traumatization from difficult medical encounters: Results from a qualitative interview study on the Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes” by Colin M.E. Halverson, Heather L. Penwell, and Clair A. Francomano. The last four Chronic Pain Partners articles […]

doctor talking to a patient

Part Four: The Rise of Clinician-Associated Trauma in the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Content warning: This article discusses difficult encounters and experiences with medical clinicians that some readers may find upsetting or triggering. Please take care of yourself as you see fit.   I did not receive an hEDS [hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome] diagnosis until I was 29 years old, and until 2023, I did not feel one ounce […]

Plastic surgeon prepares a patient

Part Three: Medical Gaslighting as a Source of Clinician-Associated Trauma

Content warning: This article discusses medical gaslighting and real-life examples of clinician-associated trauma. Please take care of yourself as you see fit.  As previously reported, clinician-associated trauma (CAT) is a new term used to describe the trauma created by repeated, negative clinical interactions. It was coined as a result of the study reported in “Clinician-associated […]

two hands with blue gloves holding a surgical mask

Part Two: HEDS Researchers Explain Clinician-Associated Trauma

This is the second article in our series covering psychological medical trauma. The first article provided an introduction to what concepts of psychological medical trauma exist and the newly-created concept of clinician-associated trauma. It also introduced a study regarding hEDS patients and clinician-associated trauma. This article will look deeper into the details of this study […]