Ranjan Roy

Preface

The idea for this book was developed when I was on sabbatical leave during 1986 at the Department of Social Administration, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. The book has only one purpose, namely, to explore the consequences of chronic pain on marital relationships in particular and on family functioning in general. This book is written by a clinician for clinicians.
Chronic pain, which still remains somewhat of a mystery and, in considerable measure, impervious to treatment, exacts a heavy toll from the chronic pain patient as well as the patient's family members. Psychological and social costs of chronic pain are substantial.

The people described in this book were seen by myself over the course of many years. It was essential to formulate my observations about them in a cogent and at the same time comprehensive manner. To that end, I used the problem centered approach to family therapy developed by Dr. N. B. Epstein and Dr. D. Bishop, my one time colleagues. The problem-centered approach was particularly suitable for my purposes because it allowed for assessment of family functioning in various dimensions and at the same time provided a brief method of family treatment. I am deeply indebted to Nathan Epstein and Duane Bishop who have spent many years developing their model.