Pain, attachment, and meaning making: Report on an art therapy relational neuroscience assessment protocol

The experience of pain presents a complex interaction of neurological, emotional, cognitive, social, and cultural factors. A major public health concern, chronic back pain calls for adapted, short-term approaches as chronic patients may find lengthy assessments or long-term treatment a burden. An art therapy relational neurobiology (ATR-N) brief assessment protocol is proposed that demonstrates advantages for the assessment of the multiple psychosocial dimensions of pain experiences. As pain experiences are experienced in the body non-verbal visual approaches are often used for the assessment of pain. The shared neuropathways of sensory pain and emotional experiences suggest the advantages of employing a non-verbal sensory assessment and treatment approach. The sequential visual expressions of sensory, emotional, and cognitive pain assist in revealing coping skills and the potential for symptom reduction. Interpersonal neurobiology perspectives of the art from a protocol of a woman suffering from back pain further demonstrates how the interface of stress responses and adult attachment styles affect each individual's unique pain experiences. Understanding the shared neuropathways of pain also suggests the value of including attuned interpersonal interventions such as supportive witnessing of the art making. The role of strengths, such as awareness and creativity, in mitigating pain experience are underscored in the protocol's structure. Finally, the protocol approach holds the potential for future development of reliable art therapy measures of change providing a framework for advancing ATR-N research and clinical approaches.