Member-only story

The Power of Bedside Manner on Pain

New research shows how a doctor’s beliefs and attitudes affect patient outcomes

Ashley Abramson
Elemental
Published in
5 min readOct 21, 2019

Photo: Runstudio/Getty Images

WWhen he practiced as a psychotherapist, Luke Chang, PhD, now an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth College, frequently used his body language and tone of voice to develop trust and rapport with his clients.

Whether he communicated warmth through his posture or exaggerated his expression to show shock or surprise, Chang knew his “bedside manner” would play a role in his clients’ emotional healing process.

“It’s been known for a while that nonspecific factors like expectations and the therapeutic relationship contribute a lot to treatment outcomes in the context of mental health,” Chang says. “And while there’s some evidence that these things probably matter for physical health as well, it’s been studied even less.”

To get a more concrete answer about the effects of a doctor’s attitude on a person’s well-being, Chang and his colleagues conducted a study that was published this month in Nature Human Behavior. Their findings confirm Chang’s hypothesis: If providers believe in a treatment’s effectiveness and express that belief through facial expressions, their patients could experience less pain.

Create an account to read the full story.

The author made this story available to Medium members only.
If you’re new to Medium, create a new account to read this story on us.

Or, continue in mobile web

Already have an account? Sign in

Elemental
Elemental

Published in Elemental

Elemental is a former publication from Medium for science-backed health and wellness coverage. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson

Written by Ashley Abramson

Writer-mom hybrid. Health & psychology stories in NYT, WaPo, Allure, Real Simple, & more.

Responses (4)

Write a response

To me — — kind wins out every time!!!!! Thoughts are things for sure and to be feeling lousy and have a physician or nurse who is not kind is the all time worst. It can make you feel guilty for being there in the first place!!! Yes we are all human…

5

I have a lot of clients in chronic pain. The way their physicians treat them makes a big difference in their pain level. If the MD dismisses their pain, they get angry from frustration and the pain level goes up. If the physician admits that he’s…

4

Great article, however…
I am a little confused. The trial was to test the effect of the Doctor’s demeanor on the outcome of the treatment, right? Therefore, the trial was testing for a placebo effect that would enhance the outcome of the treatment…

4