AHP Perspective is a magazine published bi-monthly for members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. It includes interviews, articles, essays, updates on member activities, conference announcements, and book reviews. Members receive the complete AHP Perspective as part of their membership.

AHP PERSPECTIVE April/May 2002 Table of Contents

BACK SENSE: A Revolutionary
Approach to Halting the Cycle of
Chronic Back Pain
BY RONALD D. SIEGEL, MICHAEL H.
URDANG, AND DOUGLAS R. JOHNSON
New York: Broadway/Bantam
Doubleday Dell, 2001, $21.95, 246
pp., ISBN: 0767906365.
Reviewed by Stanley Krippner

Chronic back pain is a major public health problem in the United States, disabling more than five million Americans annually. Back Sense comes to its readers’ rescue, offering them a self-treatment program that reflects the suffering of two of its authors, Ronald Siegel (a psychol-ogist) and Michael Urdang (a market research consultant), and the expertise of the third, Douglas Johnson, a physician.

The authors draw upon research studies that indicate the major role played by stress, muscle tension, and inactivity in back pain, rather than damaged spinal structures. The focus of their self-treatment is a change in sufferers’ beliefs about their pain, followed by a full range of physical activities designed to rehabilitate the affected muscles.

Readers are taught how to break the “Chronic Back Pain Cycle” in which concern about one’s physical problems increases emotional distress, leading to more pain and further distress. In the meantime, sufferers tend to indulge in physical inactivity rather than to initiate activity and exercise.

Members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology will be familiar with many of the authors’ recommendations, for example, understanding the role of stressful life events, coping with emotions rather than suppressing them, and employing journal writing, social support groups, “mindfulness,” and other forms of meditation. Psychotherapy and medical treatment are advised when necessary, and warnings about drug and alcohol abuse are given. This book includes a wealth of material, including instructions on taking one’s pulse, a pertinent website, and a list of published resources. Instead of complaining about back pain, or resigning oneself to permanent misery, afflicted persons would be well advised to invest in this book.

STANLEY KRIPPNER is Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School and a former President of AHP.

AHP PERSPECTIVE April/May 2002 Table of Contents

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