The Meg Foundation
Dr. Thomas is the Executive Director of the Meg Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering kids and families to prevent and relieve pain. She and her team are dedicated to creating mass access to the best resources, tools, and information. Check it out here.
Video Resources for Pain Management
Below is an informative video, entitled "You Are The Boss Of Your Brain," about how kids (and adults) can have more control and make themselves more comfortable during medical procedures, including shots and blood tests. Dr. Thomas directed the project and was the primary consultant to develop the video for Stanford Children's Health and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. It explains how pain works, and how various coping strategies work to help us feel more comfortable. Research demonstrates that when people (including kids) understand how something works, they are better able to have control over it, and better able to learn new skills. Children and parents should watch the video together (before it is time to go get a needle procedure) to discover how they can have more control over their brains, their bodies, and their experience. After watching the video, it is a great idea to write down a Game Plan of which coping strategies a child wants to use. You can get a copy of the Game Plan designed to go along with the video in English here and in Spanish here. It's also a very good idea to practice those strategies through play, using medical play toys like these. A product called the Buzzy Bee is used in the video and can be extremely helpful for kids. To order one, you can click here or here.
English version
SPANISH VERSION
Additional Video Resources
Dr. Leora Kuttner is pioneer in the field of pain management. Her demonstration below of the Magic Glove technique is great example of the amazing capacity of imagination and the mind to bring comfort.
Internationally renowned pain expert Dr. Leora Kuttner made this groundbreaking film about the power of hypnosis and pain management, entitled No Fears, No Tears in the 1980's. It is a great introduction to the power of hypnosis, pain management, and empowering children and families.
Dr. Elliot Krane is an internationally recognized leader in the world of pediatric pain, and he gave a brilliant TED talk several years ago on the experience and treatment of chronic pain. He is also my former boss and he references the pain program we developed in this wonderfully informative video.
This a brilliant video that explains the nature of successful treatment for chronic pain, and the complex factors that affect the experience.
Informative quick video about the biopsychosocial model of pain from the folks at TEDed.
This video is aimed toward adults but has great information that applies to those with pain of all ages. It is a wonderful, easy to understand explanation of some of the latest information and research about the chronic pain experience.
This is a beautiful story of an incredible family that does an amazing job of dealing with their son's painful disease. There are many lessons to be learned in watching their story. Subtitles are in English.