Behavioral Medicine: A Voyage to the Future
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Behavioral Medicine: A Voyage to the Future Francis J. Keefe, Ph.D.
Published online: 25 January 2011 # The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2011
Abstract This paper discusses trends and future directions in behavioral medicine. It is divided into three sections. The first briefly reviews key developments in the history of behavioral medicine. The second section highlights trends and future directions in pain research and practice as a way of illustrating future directions for behavioral medicine. Consistent with the biopsychosocial model of pain, this section focuses on trends and future directions in three key areas: biological, psychological, and social. The third section describes recent Society of Behavioral Medicine initiatives designed to address some of the key challenges facing our field as we prepare for the future. Keywords Pain . Biopsychosocial model . Behavioral medicine
Introduction The field of behavioral medicine has journeyed far over the past 30 years. Whether we have been in the field since its inception or just recently joined it, each of us has a perspective on where behavioral medicine has been and where it is going. That perspective is unique and very much
Based on the Presidential Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, April 8, 2010 F. J. Keefe (*) Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected]
shaped by our experiences and background. Recall the tale of the blind men who sought to learn what an elephant was like by touching it [1]. One blind man touched the leg of the elephant and concluded that an elephant was a pillar. A second touched the tail and claimed the elephant was like a rope. A third touched the trunk and reported the elephant was like a tree branch. A fourth touched the ear and said the elephant was like a hand fan. A fifth touched the belly and concluded the elephant was like a huge wall. The blind men argued about the elephant, almost coming to blows because each felt he was right. At that point, a wise man that had been watching and listening to the blind men spoke up and told them that each was right, since the elephant had all of the features described. All of the blind men were satisfied since each was comforted to know he was right. This paper speculates on the voyage that behavioral medicine will likely take in the future. It is always a hazardous proposition to imagine the future. Like the blind men, each of us has a unique perspective on the future that is shaped by our own experience. My view is unique and very much influenced by 30 years of experience in one corner of the world of behavioral medicine: pain research and practice. I have had the good fortune of coming into this area at a time when it was in its relative infancy and having the opportunity to watch it grow and mature. In addition, I have been fortunate to have spent most of my career at Duke University, one of the lead
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