Consultant Lead Health Psychologist
Clinical Health Psychology
Management of chronic pain and reducing pain-related disability.
Evaluation of pain self -management interventions. Psychometric properties of measurement tools
I am a Consultant Health Psychologist and Chartered Scientist and my clinical work involves the assessment, treatment and evaluation of chronic pain patients so they may adapt more successfully and improve coping with their pain. I previously developed and ran an outpatient chronic pain management course at Chase Farm Hospital. I started working at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in 1999 and am now the Lead Health Psychologist. I lead programme development and innovation; an example being the annual development initiative in which I organise and facilitate a multi-disciplinary day of in-service review and improvements. I deliver individual and group therapy evidence based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I also organise and deliver training workshops for colleagues. I have delivered in-service training to uni-disciplinary groups at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, such as rehabilitation consultants and physiotherapists. I also deliver external consultancy including during the last three years to Transport for London, Northwick Park Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and the Royal College of Nursing.
I am an experienced researcher involved in the design and undertaking service based research primarily focussed on evaluating intervention outcomes. I also offer research consultancy to colleagues. I have presented findings from my research at national conferences and contributed to television and radio programmes on chronic pain. I advise on a national level on delivering effective pain management. During the last two years I have become more involved in national chronic pain initiatives. After being voted as the psychology representative, I went on to become treasurer and subsequently, vice chair of the Pain Management Programme Special Interest Group of the British Pain Society. Part of my responsibility was to sit on the organising committee of the 2007 National Pain Management Programme Conference. I have recently organised a parallel session at the 2009 Annual Scientific meeting of the British Pain Society.
- 1991 - 1994 London Guildhall University, B.Sc (Hons) Psychology
- 1994 - 1996 City University, London, M.Sc. Health Psychology
- 1991 - 2001 Leicester University, M.Sc. Pain Management
- 2001 British Psychological Society, Entered on the Register of Chartered Psychologists
- 2004 - 2008 City University, London, Doctorate in Health Psychology. Thesis title, “Pain Related Health Beliefs and Disability – the role of Pain Self-Efficacy”. Awarded April 2008
- 2008 University of Birmingham, Primary Practicum Certificate in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
- International Association for the Study of Pain - full member
- British Psychological Society - graduate member
- British Pain Society - full member
- Society of Behavioural Medicine - full member
- British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies – full member
Conference presentations
- 2002 Bournmouth, Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting
The Role of a Health Psychologist in Chronic Pain
Goal Attainment Scaling: An outcome measure for pain management programmes (lead co-author)
Shifting the Goalposts: The Move of a Multi-Disciplinary Team Towards Inter-Professional Practise (co-author) - 2004 Manchester, Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting
Patient-Generated Index – experience of developing a new outcome measure (lead co-author) - 2005 Nottingham, National Conference on Pain Management Programmes
Working within a Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management Team – A Personal Reflection on Five Years Experience
Patient Evaluation of the Active Back Programme - 2008 Glasgow, International Association for the Study of Pain, World Congress
Further valuation of the Pain Self Efficacy Questionnaire – A valid and reliable measure - 2009 Sandown, British Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting
Predicting Disability using the Pain Self Efficacy Questionnaire
Publications
- Lucas A. J. (2012) A New Model; Delivering a Hotel based Pain Self-Management Programme. British Journal of Pain, Vol.6, (2), 80.
- Lucas A.J. (2012) Failed back surgery syndrome:whose failure? Time to discard a redundant term. British Journal of Pain, Vol.6 (4), 162-165.
- Lucas A.J. (2013) Im not mad. I have EDS so why do I need to see a Psychologist? In Isobel Knight (2013) Understanding the Complex Chronic Patient. A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Managing Ehlers Danlos-Hypermobility Syndrome Type III and other Chronic Conditions. With a contribution from Professor Howard Bird, Dr. Alan J. Hakim, Rosemary Keer, Dr Andrew Lucas, Dr Jane Simmonds and John Wilks. Foreword by Professor Rodney Grahame. Published by Singing Dragon