Patient Doctor Communication
Persistent
Many timesI have been called resilient. A title inflicted on melike a brilliant,gleaming badge of honor. But it was one that I never asked for.Worn without choiceor the ability to claima different perspective,a different name. I give myself a new description,a title that encompassesthe pain and infliction. I am persistent. Resilience is to bendand not […]
Why May is The Moment for “Complicated”
We didn’t plan it this way, but the release of our documentary film, Complicated, on Apple TV in May feels almost fated. Between Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Awareness Month and Mother’s Day, the timing reflects the very heart of this project that we started nine years ago. To see it come to fruition has been incredible, and I […]
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 […]
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] […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
