Pain acceptance as a change mechanism for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for migraine

AbstractMigraine is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Third wave therapies, such as Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Migraine (MBCT-M), have proven efficacious in reducing headache-related disability. However, research is needed to better understand the change mechanisms involved in these third-wave therapies. Acceptance is a fundamental component of third wave therapies, and more research is warranted on the role of pain acceptance in MBCT-M. It is also valuable to understand the independent roles of the two components of pain acceptance —pain willingness (PW) and activity engagement (AE). The current study is a secondary analysis of a randomized control trial of MBCT-M. Sixty participants were included in the study (MBCT = 31; WL/TAU = 29). Baseline correlations between overall pain acceptance, PW, AE, and headache-relate d disability were run. Mixed models assessed change from baseline to one-month post-treatment and treatment-by-time interaction for overall pain acceptance, PW, and AE. Mixed models also assessed maintenance of changes at 6-month follow-up in the MBCT-M group. Longitudinal mediation models assessed whether change in pain acceptance, PW, and AE mediated the relationship between treatment and change in headache-related disability. Pain acceptance, PW, and AE were all negatively correlated with headache-related disability at baseline. Pain acceptance, PW, and AE all significantly increased over t ime in both the waitlist/ tre...
Source: Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research