Advancing psychological therapies for chronic pain
Open accessAbstract
There is a strong tradition of therapy development and evaluation in the field of psychological interventions for chronic pain. However, despite this research production, the effects of treatments remain uncertain, and treatment development has stalled. This review summarises the current evidence but focusses on promising areas for improvement. Advancing psychological therapies for chronic pain will come from a radical re-imagining of the content, delivery, place, and control of therapy. The next generation of therapeutic interventions will also need alternative methods of measurement and evaluation, and options are discussed.
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The review's analyses of methodological problems in most included studies support the position that no new trials should be conducted until those critical problems are addressed.
“Our analyses of the methodology problems of most of the studies analysed in this review supports their postulation, that there should be no new trials until these critical problems are addressed (Eccleston and Crombez, 2017).”
From Efficacy, acceptability and safety of cognitive behavioural therapies in fibromyalgia syndrome – A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (2018) · cites this paper as Eccleston and Crombez, 2017
Psychosocial interventions based on CBT and/or ACT, aiming to support coping and self-management for patients living with chronic pain, are associated with improved quality of life, pain acceptance, functioning, and self-efficacy.
“Psychosocial interventions based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) [8] and/or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) [9], aiming to support coping and self-management for patients living with chronic pain [10,11], have been shown to be associated with improved quality of life, pain acceptance, functioning, and self-efficacy, as well as reduced pain, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology [12-”
From Digital Self-Management in Support of Patients Living With Chronic Pain: Feasibility Pilot Study (2020) · cites this paper as [12]
Psychosocial interventions based on CBT and/or ACT are associated with reduced pain, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology.
“Psychosocial interventions based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) [8] and/or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) [9], aiming to support coping and self-management for patients living with chronic pain [10,11], have been shown to be associated with improved quality of life, pain acceptance, functioning, and self-efficacy, as well as reduced pain, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology [12-”
From Digital Self-Management in Support of Patients Living With Chronic Pain: Feasibility Pilot Study (2020) · cites this paper as [12]
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- Authors
- Eccleston, C., & Crombez, G.
- Affiliations
- Ghent University (BE)
- Corresponding author
- Eccleston, Christopher
- Venue
- F1000Research
- Publisher
- F1000 Research Ltd
- Published
- 2017-04-11
- Volume
- 6
- Pages
- 461
- ISSN
- 2046-1402 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5389407
- OpenAlex
- W2606270615
- Cited by
- 67
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 3
- Type
- other
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- F1000Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- chronic pain, psychotherapy, psychotherapy development, treatment evaluation, treatment delivery, treatment content, treatment control, outcome measurement
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