I dunno, in my experiences with chronic pain, painkillers actually don't work that well, at least in an ongoing basis. They're good to have available for the times that the pain gets really obnoxious or unmanageable, but there are no strong painkillers available, to my knowledge, that don't have problematic side effects. So taking painkillers all the time isn't really practical.

I'm all for putting money and effort into researching painkillers that work better without unhelpful side effects; but until we have those, then yes, pyschological pain management IS helpful and useful to improve everyday coping with chronic pain. My time with a pain management specialist getting help in working through some of my psychological issues about pain that was making it a lot worse for me was very helpful. I can't take painkillers every day, and there is no painkiller on earth that will touch a heavy-duty migraine once it settles in; but learning to deal with pain helps all the time.