Efficacy of a transdiagnostic emotion–focused exposure treatment for chronic pain patients with comorbid anxiety and depression: a randomized controlled trial

This study addresses the efficacy of a transdiagnostic emotion–focused exposure treatment (“hybrid”) for chronic pain patients with comorbid emotional problems. Adults (n = 115) with chronic musculoskeletal pain and functional and emotional problems were included in a 2-centre, parallel randomized controlled, open-label trial comparing this treatment to an active control condition receiving a guided Internet-delivered pain management treatment based on CBT principles (iCBT). The hybrid treatment (n = 58, 10-16 sessions) integrates exposure in vivo for chronic pain based on the fear-avoidance model with an emotion-regulation approach informed by procedures in Dialectical Behavior Therapy. The iCBT (n = 57; 8 treatment modules) addresses topics such as pain education, coping strategies, relaxation, problem solving, stress, and sleep management using standard CBT techniques. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed before and after treatment as well as at a 9-month primary end point. Across conditions, 78% participants completed post-treatment and 81% follow-up assessment. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that the hybrid had a significantly better post-treatment outcome on pain catastrophizing (d = 0.39) and pain interference (d = 0.63) and significantly better follow-up outcomes on depression (d = 0.43) and pain interference (d = 0.51). There were no differences on anxiety and pain intensity. Observed proportions of clinically significant improvement favoured the hybrid on ...
Source: Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research