A new study led by UCLA Health and the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office found chronic pain among older adults could be significantly reduced through a newly developed psychotherapy that works by confronting past trauma and stress-related emotions that can exacerbate pain symptoms.
Published in JAMA Network Open on June 13, 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.
The study found that 63% of veterans who underwent EAET reported at least a 30% reduction in pain – a clinically significant reduction — after treatment compared to only 17% of veterans who underwent cognitive behavioral therapy. Pain reduction was sustained among 41% of EAET participants six months after treatment compared to 14% of CBT patients. Additionally, EAET patients reported greater benefits for addressing anxiety, depression, PTSD 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. Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment for chronic pain. What this study adds is that the type of psychotherapy matters." Brandon Yarns, lead author, assistant professor at UCLA Health’s Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and psychiatrist at the Veteran’s Affairs Greater Los Angeles Cognitive behavioral therapy has long been the "gold standard" for psychotherapeutic treatment of chronic pain among veterans, Yarns said. However, studies so far have shown 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 restructuring and activity pacing. The end goal is for patients to improve their ability to tolerate their pain, Yarns said.
"The goal in CBT is not necessarily to cure pain but to learn to cope and live well despite chronic pain," Yarns said.
By comparison, EAET has one primary intervention: experiencing, expressing and releasing emotions.
Developed in the 2010s, the therapy aims […]
New psychotherapy shows promise in reducing chronic pain for older veterans
