• Describe how emotions, thoughts, and behaviors impact the individual pain experience
• List 4 professional interventions that psychologists can use to impact patient’s pain experience
• Identify language/phrases that can influence the likelihood of patient follow through from a medical provider referral

Speaker: Amy Wachholtz, PhD, MDiv MS, ABPP

Dr. Amy Wachholtz is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Program Director of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver. She is an Associate Professor in the Hematology Department at the CU Medical Center (Hematology Oncology Division), an affiliate faculty with the Addiction Treatment and Research Service in the Psychiatry Department of University of Colorado Medical School, adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and a licensed clinical health psychologist.

Dr. Wachholtz graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University and a specialized graduate degree in Bioethics from a joint Harvard University and Boston University program. She continued her education to earn her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Bowling Green State University where she had a dual specialization in Behavioral Medicine and Psychology of Religion. She completed her internship through fellowship training at Duke University Medical Center where she focused on medical psychology and pain management. She also recently completed a post-doctoral Master’s degree in Psychopharmacology. 

Her research and clinical interests focus on 1) the complexities of treating of co-morbid pain and opioid addiction in both acute pain and chronic pain situations and 2) the bio-psycho-social model for chronic pain disorders and palliative care. Her research encompasses bench to bedside methodology from psycho-physiological basic research to testing patient treatments and has resulted in over 100 publications and presentations. She enjoys teaching trainees of all levels in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings.