DocWorking: The Whole Physician Podcast
Education:How To
“One physician who learned these ideas told me at a conference that it had put the joy back into her work. So, it really can turn a practice around to learn how to do this.” -Dr. David Clarke
In episode 163, Dr. Jen Barna welcomes Dr. David Clarke to the podcast! Dr. Clarke is a gastroenterologist, President of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association and author of They Can’t Find Anything Wrong! Psychophysiologic disorders are somatic illness symptoms induced by hidden stressors. When he began his practice as a GI doctor, Dr. Clarke noticed a large number of his patients had symptoms, some so severe they resulted in multiple hospitalizations, with no identifiable underlying cause. This observation was the beginning of his journey toward identifying these patients and connecting their physical illness with hidden stressors, and then treating them with what is known as Pain Reprocessing Therapy with tremendously successful results.
In the first half of this episode, Dr. Clarke shares the reasons that psychophysiologic disorders can be common in healthcare workers, and how they are also very common among patients. He tells us the five different types of stress he looks for in the systematic process he uses to evaluate patients, to identify the different kinds of stresses that can commonly produce physical symptoms. He also shares success stories of patients he has treated. This is a fascinating field and according to Dr. Clarke, “When you are aware of it and know to look for it, that is how you achieve the best outcomes.” This is a two-part interview, so please join us for Episode 164 on Thursday for the continuation of this conversation!
David D. Clarke, MD is President of the Psychophysiologic Disorders Association. He is also Assistant Director at the Center for Ethics and Clinical Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology Emeritus both at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon, USA. As Faculty Associate at Arizona State University and at the Cummings Graduate Institute for Behavioral Health Studies, he teaches graduate courses on Psychophysiologic Medicine. His book for patients, They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!,(Sentient Publications, 2007) was praised by a president of the American Psychosomatic Society as “truly remarkable.” He was also the lead editor for the professional textbook Psychophysiologic Disorders (KDP Publishing, 2019) which has sixteen contributors from five countries.
He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine and practiced Gastroenterology in Portland from 1984 to 2009. During that time he diagnosed and treated over 7000 patients whose symptoms were not explained by diagnostic testing.
Dr. Clarke is a graduate of Williams College (Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where he received the Mosby Award for Clinical Excellence. He completed internship and residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Gastroenterology at Harbor/UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. He has been a Visiting Professor at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane, Australia and at Oxford University in England. Dr. Clarke has lectured extensively on Psychophysiologic Disorders to health care professionals and the public across North America and in Europe. He has appeared on over 100 television and radio broadcasts throughout the U.S. Websites are Stressillness.com and PPDAssociation.org.
Some additional references related to Pain Reprocessing Therapy:
A film about a radical cure for chronic pain
THIS MIGHT HURT
https://www.thismighthurtfilm.com/
How therapy, not pills, can nix chronic pain and change the brain
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2021/09/29/how-therapy-not-pills-can-nix-chronic-pain-and-change-brain
Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Yoni K Ashar et al. JAMA Psychiatry. 2022.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34586357/
Find full transcripts of DocWorking: The Whole Physician Podcast episodes on the DocWorking Blog
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Podcast produced by: Amanda Taran
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227: Navigating Real Estate Investments for Physicians with Brett Riggins
226: Connecting heart, mind, body and spirit for healing and wellness with Dr Manizeh Mirza-Gruber
225: How Retraining the Brain Can Eliminate Chronic Tinnitis and Lead to Personal Transformation with Peter Studenik
224 Marriage Survival Guide for Doctors and Medical Students: Tips from Dr. Dave and Ashley Gay
223 How to Process Stress and Alleviate Pain and Other Symptoms with Stephanie Shaw
222: Top Tips for Real Estate Investing from Dermatopathologist Dr. Lydia Essary
221: Thriving Despite Chronic Illness & Chronic Pain in the Physician Family with Dr. Jeep & Vanessa Naum
220: What Patients Teach Their Doctors with Dr. David Alfery
219: Physicians, Nonclinical Careers and Choices in Healthcare with Dr. Tom Davis
218: Neuroplasticity: How You Can Impact Your Overall Health by Controlling Your Thoughts with Dr. Philippe Douyon
217: Physician Nonclinical Career Advice You Can Put to Use Today with Dr. John Jurica
216: Finances, Physicians and Burnout with Daniel Wrenne
215: How Physicians Can Improve Work-Life Balance by Minimizing Contaminated Time at Work and at Home (Jill Farmer, Gabriella Dennery, MD)
214: The Importance of Prioritizing Your Wellbeing To Prevent Burnout with Dr. Virgie Bright Ellington
213: How Personalized Medicine Can Change Your Life and the Lives of Your Patients with Dr. Tracy Gapin
212: Ways To Stress Less Over The Holidays
211: Being A Unicorn in Physician Leadership with Dr. Camelia Lawrence
210: One Physician’s Journey into Non-Clinical Work with Dr. Virgie Bright-Ellington
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