The present study examined the use of sensory descriptors in assessing chronic pain patients in a multidisciplinary treatment center. Three hundred and eighty-eight chronic pain patients were divided into two groups based on the number of pain sensations which they chose to depict their pain. The results indicated that patients who used numerous sensory descriptors experienced more physical interference and emotional distress and were at greater risk for treatment failure than those patients who used only one descriptor. The results support the utility of sensory descriptors in assessing chronic pain patients.