Chronic Pain Management and Personal Perspectives From Julia Rodes, MD

Frank Clark, MD, hosts Julia Rodes, MD, a fourth-year resident at the Medical University of South Carolina, on this episode of Psyched Perspectives to discuss integrative approaches to chronic pain. Rodes emphasized the shared neural pathways between chronic pain and mood disorders, advocating for a biopsychosocial model of treatment. She highlighted the importance of realistic goals and nonpharmacological interventions like transcranial magnetic stimulation for fibromyalgia and her own experience with nerve stimulators. Rodes shared her personal journey with chronic pain and her focus on connection, acceptance and commitment, and change. The 2 clinicians also discussed the marginalization of chronic pain patients and the need for better advocacy and validation of their experiences.¹ Rodes also shared that her lived experience in medical school as a person with a disability and chronic pain was markedly different than expected. She noted that she realized her visible chronic pain made some clinicians and patients question her qualifications. Her visibility though has also helped her connect with patients who have similar problems—they feel seen and personally understood.²

Dr Clark is an outpatient psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric Times.

Dr Rodes is a fourth-year resident at the Medical University of South Carolina.

References

1. Samuelson K. Disability is often neglected in medical school curricula, new study finds. Northwestern Now. January 15, 2025. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/01/disability-often-neglected-in-medical-school-curricula-new-study-finds

2. Iezzoni L. Why increasing numbers of physicians with disability could improve care for patients with disability. AMA Journal of Ethics. October 2016. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/why-increasing-numbers-physicians-disability-could-improve-care-patients-disability/2016-10