What is the Biopsychosocial model and who is George L. Engel?
If you are reading this then I am sure you have heard of my admiration for a little model that’s used for examining pain, health and illness in human population.
The biopsychosocial model was created by George L. Engel in 1977. I believe his model is a crucial component for coaches, athletes and general population people who want to understand more about how pain works and what practical steps they can use on their own to develop self-efficacy and autonomy in dealing with their own pain experience.
Born in New York City in 1913, George studied medicine earning his medical degree in 1938. Engel created the model as he was researching psychosomatic studies.
He also edited its journal, Psychosomatic medicine and began publishing a number of books and articles on the relation of emotion and disease and on the incorporation of these ideas into medical training and clinical practice. With his direction, the program at the university became a leading centre in the development of psychosomatic theory and training. His ideas eventually came to become the biopsychosocial model.
There are 3 components that make up the model. Biological (biochemical/tissue), Phycological (thoughts/beliefs) and Social (cultural). Think of these three as a pie chart that contain different percentages of each. Ultimately, they make up a multidisciplinary approach to understanding a person’s pain experience, this is because separating them to just one component is reductionist and incomplete.
Viewing the person / patient as a human rather than machine (biomedical) leads to more optimal outcomes in pain, rehabilitation and overall wellness.