Rate My Professor Bronwyn Lennox Thompson

Dr Bronwyn Lennox Thompson is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch. She holds a Diploma in Occupational Therapy (DipOccTh) from Christchurch Institute of Technology, an MSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Canterbury, and a PhD from the University of Canterbury, completed in 2015 with a focus on developing a theory of living well with chronic pain. Her career history includes roles in occupational therapy, pain psychology, vocational management, and policy development, primarily within the field of pain management. Thompson has worked clinically to support individuals with chronic health problems in developing self-management skills using cognitive and behavioural approaches, including third-wave cognitive behavioural therapies such as mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy.

Thompson teaches postgraduate papers in pain and pain management at the University of Otago, with an emphasis on psychosocial factors, coping, and resilience. Her research interests encompass evidence-based health care, chronic pain, pain anxiety, and coping rehabilitation. She supervises PhD and Master's students on topics including perceptions of suffering and suicide, ultrasound investigation of fascia tissue, post-registration clinical competency in osteopathy, and experiences following knee replacement surgery. Key publications include 'Living well with chronic pain: a classical grounded theory' (2020, Disability and Rehabilitation), 'Features and methods to discriminate between mechanism-based categories of pain experienced in the musculoskeletal system: a Delphi expert consensus study' (2022, Pain), 'Living with osteoarthritis is a balancing act: an exploration of patients’ beliefs about knee pain' (2018, BMC Rheumatology), 'New Zealand survey of the diagnosis and treatment experiences of people with upper limb complex regional pain syndrome' (2025, Pain Practice), and 'Living well with complex regional pain syndrome: a qualitative exploration of lived experiences' (2025, Disability & Rehabilitation). These works, some cited over 100 times, contribute to understanding patient experiences, self-management strategies, and psychosocial aspects of chronic pain conditions.