Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

1 Introduction to Comorbid Mental Health and Chronic Pain 1

2 Treatment Organization, Outline, and Structure of the Program 6

3 Clinical Manual for TAG Program 15

Biological Section 15

Goal setting and motivation 15

Functioning and loss 21

Sleep 26

Emergence and patterns 29

Adherence to treatment protocols 33

Complexity 38

Working with your team 41

Psychological Section 46

Orientation to change 46

Readiness to change 50

Depression 54

Anxiety 59

First step toward change 64

Anger management 69

Attending to distress 73

Meaning and pain 79

Stress management 83

Defense mechanisms and coping styles 87

Stigma 91

Chemical abuse 96

Lifespan issues 101

Managing fl are-ups 104

Social Section 108

Managing confl ict 108

The 3 Is 112

Problem-solving 116

Nurturing support systems 120

Social roles in relationships 124

Intimacy 129

Styles of interacting 132

4 Handouts and Homework 136

Master Skills Sheet 223

Appendix – Safety Contract 230

References 231

Index 234

About the Author

Mark R. Carlson is Founder, President, CEO, and co-owner ofMental Health Systems (MHS), Minnesota. He is also Vice-Presidentof the Dialectical Behavior Therapy National Certification andAccreditation Association (DBTNCAA) and Adjunct Professorin Psychology at Argosy University, Twin Cities. He served asthe Clinical Director of multiple clinics before leaving to foundMHS.