What IHH said above is completely correct. I just want to add a bit, as after 14 years of research, I've discovered a few things.

Why do peds pain management docs think RSD is psychological in kids? It's idiotic, but there's sort of a reason. Basically, kids respond well to the treatments they do. That's because these pediatric docs use very basic, conservative and conventional treatments to treat RSD. They prescribe intensive physical therapy, and maybe some Neurontin and Elavil or a TENS unit. And it works for a lot of kids, and it works well with no invasive procedures.

So I've established that their treatment works. It works generally for kids and not for adults. And the reason is that kids have something adults don't have, which really works in their favor: neuroplasticity.

Basically, a younger nervous system is more able to rewire and retrain itself than an older one. Some of this ability lasts into young adulthood (mid- to late 20s). It means that the malfunctioning nervous system is more readily responsive to therapies that will retrain it. After the age of 30, things are much harder.

So, really this is a complex problem. These doctors are terrible and demeaning, but they get real results. That's because in addition to being demeaning, they use real treatments. It would make things so much simpler if they were either all bad or all good, but that's life, I guess.

I do have to say that despite my mostly in-tact sanity, being treated at a Children's Hospital did wonders for my RSD and horrors to my emotional state. I eventually recovered from the emotional part. The question is whether the sacrifice was worthwhile, and that's something each individual must answer for his or herself. Six years later, I'm still not sure.