My PhD is supervised by Professor Tamar Pincus and the broad area of my research is the role of psychology in chronic pain. More specifically, my research examines the impact of diagnostic status on chronic low back patients’ emotional, cognitive and social functioning, as well as their experience of pain and disability. In about 85% of low back pain patients a clear diagnosis cannot be established by existing radiological methods; as a result these patients are given unclear labels such as ‘non-specific low back pain’. Having no clear physical evidence means that some patients feel that their pain is delegitimized and disbelieved. This results in heavy use of medical services by chronic low back pain patients in an effort to find medical answers to legitimise their symptoms. However, radiological evidence does not support a link between observable disc changes and low back pain, and NICE guidelines have recommended against carrying out X-ray and MRI tests in these populations. Many patients are simply told that there is nothing wrong with their back, but instead of reassuring them, such statements can result in heightened anxiety, seeking further care and examinations and mistrust in clinicians. There is some evidence that lack of diagnosis is associated with negative psychological, clinical and behavioural outcomes. As currently there is no consistency and no clear guidelines for delivering diagnostic labels and explanations for chronic low back pain, there is a direct implication of potential research findings for policy makers and clinicians.

Participation in Conference:

Presentation:

Serbic, D., & Pincus, T. (2010, October).  An exploration of chronic low back pain patients' understanding, responses and feelings about their diagnostic labels and the relationship to feelings of guilt [PowerPoint slides]. Presentation session presented at the postgraduate convention of the Psychology Department, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK.

Serbic, D., & Pincus, T. (2011, April).  How does diagnostic labelling affect chronic low back pain patients? [PowerPoint slides]. Presentation session presented at the postgraduate symposium of the British Psychological Society, London, UK.

Poster:

Serbic, D., & Pincus, T. (2010, December).  An exploration of chronic low back pain patients’ understanding, responses and feelings about their diagnostic labels and the relationship   to feelings of guilt. Poster session presented at the research day at St George’s,University of London, UK.

Serbic, D., & Pincus, T. (2011, June).  How does diagnostic labelling affect chronic low back pain  patients? Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the British Pain Society, Edinburgh, UK.

In addition to doing to my research, I also work as a teaching associate in the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway. I am involved in the teaching of Psychological Research Methods and Analysis and Abnormal Psychology.