A new type of psychotherapy called emotional awareness and expression therapy significantly outperformed cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing chronic pain in older veterans.

Emotional awareness and expression therapy significantly reduced chronic pain among older adults when compared with traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, (CBT). The newer treatment works by confronting past trauma and stress-related emotions that can exacerbate pain symptoms, according to a new study published by JAMA Network Open.

The study compared the newer therapy, known as emotional awareness and expression therapy , or EAET, to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, in treating chronic pain as well as mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among older veterans.

Led by researchers at UCLA Health and the US Veterans Affairs, the study found that 63% of veterans who underwent EAET reported at least a 30% reduction in pain after treatment compared to only 17% of veterans who underwent CBT. Pain reduction was sustained among 41% of EAET participants 6 months after treatment compared to 14% of CBT patients. Additionally, EAET patients reported greater benefits for addressing mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and life satisfaction.

“Most people with chronic pain don’t consider psychotherapy at all. They’re thinking along the lines of medications, injections, sometimes surgery or bodily treatments like physical therapy,” said lead author Brandon Yarns , MD, an assistant professor at UCLA Health’s Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and psychiatrist at the Veteran’s Affairs Greater Los Angeles. “Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain . What this study adds is that the type of psychotherapy matters.”

Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain. What this study adds is that the type of psychotherapy matters.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has long been the “gold standard” for psychotherapeutic treatment of chronic pain among veterans, Dr Yarns said in a press release from UCLA. The literature has shown that CBT produces modest benefits for relieving pain. For chronic pain, patients undergo a treatment package with some similar exercises to those used to treat depression or anxiety such as guided imagery, muscle relaxation, cognitive […]

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy Significantly Reduces Chronic Pain in Veterans