Presented By: Urszula Klich, PhD, BCB, Dhwani Kothari, PhD, Kyle Suhr, PhD, Arie Zakaryan, PhD
Event Schedule
8:45 - 9:00 am Check In
9:00 - 11:00 am CE Presentation
Program Description
This course aims to offer an overview of the psychopathophysiology of pain, pain management methods, and the formal roles psychologists have in pain management. Discussions will include the pain management of children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Traditional and innovative evidence-based methods of pain management and assessment will be reviewed. Participants will also learn about the psychological, social, and emotional impact of pain on an individual and their supports.
Program Level: Introductory
Learning Objectives
- Identify 3 psychological, social, and/or emotional impacts of pain on an individual and their supports.
- Describe two evidence-based treatments for chronic pain
- Discuss at least one way to work in interdisciplinary settings to provide evidence-based, holistic care.
CE Credits
2 CEs are available for attendance.
Meet our Speakers:
Urszula I. Klich, PhD, BCB
Dr. Urszula Klich is a licensed clinical psychologist with 25 years of clinical expertise, involving complex medical conditions she treated at Shepherd Center, a top 10 rehabilitation hospital in Georgia and previously at the Methodist Pain Management Clinic in Illinois. She has specialized in the assessment and treatment of chronic pain, having completed her post-doctoral residency at Henry Ford Hospital, and internship at the Cleveland VA Hospital, as well as having served on various medical teams, including the faculty of the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Her lifelong focus has been on teaching self-regulation skills to maximize physical and emotional health. She developed specialized techniques for managing pain such as Mindfulness-Based Biofeedback Treatment (MBB), and group- based educational programs which have been published and applied in settings from hospitals to classrooms. Her focus is on restoring physical function, improving quality of life and reducing dependence on medication and invasive procedures. During her extensive clinical practice she has cultivated a treatment philosophy of integrative medicine focused on fostering each individual’s healing power to improve their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being to optimize health.
Dr. Klich is Board certified in biofeedback through BCIA and is a certified teacher of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) meditation through Emory University. She routinely presents on Mindfulness and Compassion. In 2008 she was Honored to present at the Mind and Life Summer Research Institute. She is passionate about discussions of integrating mindfulness practices, recently co-presenting with Dr and former monk Geshe Lobsang Tensin Negi. She is the president of the Southeast Biofeedback and Clinical Neuroscience Association (SBCNA) and a respected member of national associations, Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB), and the American Psychological Association (APA). She serves on the conference committee for AAPB planning the annual meeting. She routinely presents at both their annual, as well as in a conference for the Biofeedback Foundation of Europe in Venice, Italy. She presents lectures and workshops, both to client and professional groups, on a regional, national and international level. Her work in combining meditation and biofeedback was published in the Biofeedback Magazine and an edited book. She intends to continue to work on developing a strong presence of Mindfulness-Based Biofeedback treatment in integrative medicine within the professional medical world.
Dhwani Kothari, PhD
Dr. Kothari received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University. During her graduate studies, she focused research efforts on examining the impact of sleep quality on managing chronic pain along with the roles of affective and behavioral changes. Dr. Kothari completed clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship through the Phoenix VA Medical Center; she specialized in Health Psychology with a special focus on chronic pain wellness. Dr. Kothari is currently the Psychology Program Director within the Department of Psychiatry at Banner - University Medical Center Phoenix. She assists with the Psychiatry residency program and provides both outpatient psychotherapy and an inpatient psychology consultation-liaison service. Dr. Kothari’s clinical work focuses on teaching patients evidence-based strategies to address the psychological, behavioral, and social processes contributing to health and illness and subsequently impacting quality of life and well-being.
Kyle Suhr, PhD
Kyle Suhr, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor at Banner - University Medical Center South and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at the Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. His clinical interests include psychological assessment, chronic pain, anger, and severe mental illness. Dr. Suhr serves as the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Coordinator for the University of Arizona Psychiatry Residency, teaches seminars at the Department of Psychiatry, and supervises psychiatry residents and psychology interns. He is trained in multiple evidence-based interventions including brief psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, biofeedback, and motivational interviewing. He is a published scholar in national journals including Accident Analysis and Prevention, and Transportation Research Part F: Psychology and Behavior. He also co-authored a book chapter in Applied Psychology: Actively Caring for People. Prior to joining Banner University Medical Center, Dr. Suhr taught as an adjunct instructor at multiple community colleges and universities across the country.
Arie Zakaryan, PhD
Dr. Zakaryan is a licensed clinical psychologist with clinical specialization in Pediatric Psychology and Pain Management. He received his doctoral degree with a child clinical subspecialty from Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, IL. He went on to conduct his pediatric psychology internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. Dr. Zakaryan completed his fellowship in pediatric psychology at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in their Co-Occurring Clinic with a focus on treating patients with co-occurring medical and mental health diagnoses, especially for youth diagnosed with cancer. He also is fluent in Spanish and Armenian and conducts assessment and intervention in Spanish. Dr. Zakaryan joined Phoenix Children's Hospital in 2017 and is a psychologist as part of the Pain Medicine team. He also assists with the training program within the Division of Psychology. Dr. Zakaryan, along with PCH Pain Medicine Physician Dr. Paola Genovese and PCH Physical Therapists, helps run the Weekly Rehabilitation and Pain Program (WRAPP) for chronic pain adolescents in the Mercy-Gilbert and Main Campus clinics. In addition, he helps in multidisciplinary evaluations for patients with hypermobility/Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and has been working with our Pediatric Surgery department to develop a protocol for incorporating psychology prior to chest wall surgeries to improve pain coping as well then continue supporting patients/families while they are inpatient. Beyond PCH, Dr. Zakaryan is the 2020-2022 Membership Representative for the Arizona Psychological Association as well as participating on various committees. He also serves on the Student Progress Committee and Faculty Wellness Committee for the University of Arizona – College of Medicine (Phoenix Campus).
The Arizona Psychological Association (AzPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. AzPA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
